Hyuuga Naruto
by halo2freak007
Summary: What if Naruto developes a bloodline similar to the Byaakugan? The Hyuuga have no choice but to take him it! I will continue to update as quickly as i can.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

You think you know about Uzumaki Naruto? Guess again. Oh, sure, he is the son of the Yondaime, and yeah, he is a ninja, but what else do you know about him? Let me tell you, his story is an epic. To start at his birth would leave a small portion of his story out of the light. But to do so would leave him shrouded in mystery.

The only people who know why Kyuubi no Kitsune attacked Konohagakure are the Yondaime, who died in the battle, the Kyuubi itself, and the gods. Contrary to popular belief, Kyuubi was not killed by the Yondaime. It was far too powerful to die, as it was an immortal being. Also, it was entirely impossible to seal it, even with the Shinigami helping the human. But, the massive influx of power along with the destruction of its physical body allowed the Kyuubi to achieve its dream, to become a god.

Because these humans had helped it along the way, it left a passing gift for the child it was supposed to be sealed in. It had been impressed by the clan that called itself the Hyuugas. Their bloodline limit was rather impressive, and they had managed to inflict a serious amount of damage to it. With a flick of its tail across the eyes of the crying child, she imparted a similar gift to him, along with the knowledge of what it did. How it would work, he would have to figure that out on his own. With that, the Kyuubi no Kitsune ascended into paradise to join the gods who have come before it. It made a vow to watch over this child, knowing it would lead an interesting life…

Ten years later.

Uzumaki Naruto was in pain. It wasn't nearly as bad as the beating he got from the villagers, nor the ache of a whole day of training. It was a burning. His eyes felt like they were on fire. It was like that time he had gotten pink eye, only a year ago. The epidemic had swept through the children of Konoha. Although it wasn't incredibly serious, there were some worried about blindness if it had gone untreated. Fortunately for many children, the eye drops used as treatment for the disease was in no short supply.

His eyes burned like that. He could dimly make out a blurred outline of his dresser as he sat up. From the amount of light filtering through his curtains, it was morning. Naruto stood up and attempted to walk, only to find that his legs wouldn't hold his weight. With a loud thunk he hit the floor, unable to move. There was a sudden flash of light, and Naruto saw… the only way to describe it would be like seeing the dust floating in the sunlight, only it was a lot more there, almost like a stream moving through the air… With a groan, he fell into blackness.

"Hey…"

Naruto felt a hand on his shoulder

"Come on, sleepy head, wake up."

With a start, Naruto jumped up, scooting backwards and away from the person who had touched him. It was a reflexive action from the repeated beatings he had received.

"Whoa, slow down there. I'm not gonna hurt you."

Naruto looked at his 'attacker'. The loose clothing hid any definite physical features of this person. He couldn't figure out if it was a man or a woman. Its face was beautiful, but not definitely male or female. The robes were asexual as well, with the colors neutral. However, the blood red eyes that looked at him were very scary.

"Who… Who are you?"

"… That's not important right now. I have to explain something to you."

"… Where am I?"

The person sighed.

"You are in a dream. Now shut up and listen."

Naruto instantly shut his open mouth.

"Good. Ok, you remember your history class, right?" Naruto nodded. "Good. You know that the Yondaime defeated the Kyuubi no Kitsune, right?" Again, Naruto nodded. "You were lied to." The shocked look on Naruto's face was priceless.

"What…. What do you mean?"

"The Yondaime attempted to seal it into a human child. You were that child. However, he failed, and the Kyuubi ascended. That's why the villagers hated you, because they believed that you were the Kyuubi, or that Kyuubi had taken over your body. But, that's not true. I daresay, it will be a cold day in hell when a human gets the best of a Demon Lord."

Naruto laughed at a mental picture of frozen flames.

"But, Kyuubi was impressed by their efforts. It gave you a gift. You now possess a bloodline limit that far surpasses all others. However, it is both a blessing and a curse. If you accept it, you will have the ability to see and manipulate energy… what you know as chakra. This means, not only will you be able to mold your enemies' chakra, but also the chakra of any living creature you can see. Unfortunately, this means that you must give up the ability to produce chakra in your body. This means that you will have to live off of other people's chakra, but you'll have a near infinite supply from the creatures around you. Now, you can choose now, accept this gift, or continue life without it."

Naruto was dumbfounded. He had a choice? Few people ever gave him that luxury, even over inconsequential matters. But, here he sat, choosing between a bloodline limit, and a normal life… well, as normal as he could have. Sure, he was shocked that he was supposed to have been the container of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, but… somehow, it made sense, so he just accepted it. After a minute or so of weighting the pros, and the cons, Naruto come to a decision.

"I… I've always wandered what it would be like to have a bloodline limit. I accept it."

The person smiled and made a gesture. Naruto didn't know what that gesture meant, but apparently it made his eyes tingle.

"There you go, all set. Now, you have one week to learn a chakra transfer jutsu before your body stops making chakra. Oh, and before you wake up, be sure to tell that old codger the Sandaime to check the seal. He'll find it empty. Now, its time to wake up…"

The world around him slowly faded. The person's voice slowly faded from a "wake up… wake up… wake up…" to an "eent eent eent eent eent" of Naruto's alarm clock. Groggily, he sat up and looked around. He pressed the button to shut off the alarm and stood up. His neck ached from the strange position he had fallen asleep in. The floor was definitely not comfortable.

Naruto was definitely not a morning person. He was so tired he didn't notice the yellowish streams that floated in the air. Nor did he notice that the burning in his eyes that had been plaguing him for the past three days was 'mysteriously' gone. He sluggishly made his way to his bathroom, where he stripped and stepped into the water. Forgetting that it wasn't instantly hot, he was immediately awake from the icy stream the hit him full in the face.

After finishing his shower, he made his way back to his room, where he found some clean boxers and an orange jumpsuit that didn't have too many ramen stains on it. Before he left, he went to his mirror. Usually in the mornings, he would give his reflection a lecture on being strong and how he was going to become Hokage, but today he just stared.

His usually shockingly blue eyes were… different. They had faded to a pale blue that seemed almost white. All traces of a pupil had disappeared. Needless to say Naruto was shocked. So, he did what came to his mind first. He screamed… and screamed… and screamed. He took a deep breath and started running down the street towards the Hokage tower, still screaming at the top of his lungs.

Sandaime Hokage was just sitting down to a nice cup of coffee before the morning paperwork, when the doors to his office burst open. A screaming Naruto ran into the room.

"Jiisanmyeyeshurtandnowtheyreblueandscaryandkyuubiisntsealedinmyandidontknowwhattodopleashelpme…"

"Whoa, slow down, Naruto."

Naruto hiccupped once and quieted down. In the excitement, Sandaime had spilled the coffee down his front and on several very important documents. _'Today isn't starting out well…'_

"Ok, Naruto, explain to me what happened."

Naruto hiccupped again and started talking. He told Sandaime about how his eyes burned, about falling out of bed, about the dream, and about his new bloodline limit, and that he was supposed to tell him about the seal. Sandaime's face cycled through several emotions before he sat back and pinched the bridge of his nose. He could feel the headache coming on already…

"Naruto, come over here."

Naruto walked around the desk and tried his hardest not to laugh at the brown stains on the front of the Hokage's white robes.

"Naruto, can I see the seal, please?"

Naruto looked confused for a moment before Sandaime pointed at Naruto's navel. With a nod, Naruto lifted up his shirt.

The Sandaime went into a minor trance and let some chakra enter the seal. With a start, he realized that the seal, although full of chakra, was devoid of any and all consciousness. The chakra contained in the seal had been gleaned off the boy's own for years, which was the reasoning behind Naruto's incredible chakra levels.

Naruto put his shirt down after Sandaime leaned back in his chair.

"So, Kyuubi was never sealed inside you. You're a lucky child."

Naruto grinned his trademark grin while scratching the back of his head.

"However," Sandaime continued, "I will have to have someone train you on how to use those eyes of yours. You said that it was inspired by the Byaakugan and that it has much of the same effects, such as seeing chakra?"

Naruto nodded.

"Hmm… What better person to train you than the owners of the original."

The Sandaime snapped once, and a single ANBU materialized out of nowhere.

"I need you to bring Hyuuga Hiashi here. Tell him it's urgent, and it involves the secrets of the Byaakugan. That should do the trick, but if it doesn't, tell him it's a direct order from me, and, if ignored, will be treated as treason."

The ANBU nodded and melded into the background.

Naruto was bored. He sat on one of the chairs in front of the Hokage's desk, wishing this Hyuuga Hiashi person would show up. The minutes passed. Finally, as Naruto was about to pull a prank he'd been thinking of, the doors to the Hokage's office burst open.

An enraged Hyuuga stormed in, babbling on and on almost incoherently. Naruto could only stare at the fury of the verbal barrage. The Hokage just sat there, smoking his pipe. Finally, the man shut up.

"Finished?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

"Good. Now, it has come to my attention that a new Bloodline Limit has surfaced. Its effects appear to be eerily similar to that of the Byaakugan. Due to the fact that many would kill to get their hands on the Byaakugan itself, I'm sure they wouldn't stop at just taking its cousin. So, I have a request that is in your clan's favor."

"And that would be, Hokage-sama?"

"Take the wielder of this new Bloodline and teach him. Make him a part of the clan if you have to, but train him and keep him safe."

"And who would this person be?"

Sandaime pointed, and Hiashi turned to face Naruto. _'The demon brat? Is this some sort of joke?'_

It was then that he noticed the boy's eyes. They looked exactly like the Byaakugan, except for the coloring. The Byaakugan was actually a slight shade of violet, an extremely pale lavender. This boy's eyes had the same degree of paleness, only it was blue.

Needless to say, he was stunned. A near replica of the Byaakugan in the head of the most hated person in the village? He could only shudder at the repercussions against his clan's honor if they accepted him. But they must, if only to keep its secrets.

Naruto looked on in amusement as the strange man's face turned several different colors before fading back to normal.

Hiashi turned to Sandaime and spoke. "I will take him in, but I have one condition."

Sandaime raised and eyebrow before saying "And that is?"

"You publicly acknowledge the child as a human and dispel any an all rumors of him being the… being a monster."

"Oh, that shouldn't be a problem. He never had Kyuubi sealed inside him anyway."

Hiashi paled, thinking that the Sandaime had just broken his own law and revealed the existence of Kyuubi to the child. Then, his ears caught up with his mind, and he heard the last part.

"What do you mean, Kyuubi was never sealed inside the boy? I saw the seal myself, I know its there!"

"Apparently, Kyuubi was too powerful to be sealed, and when his soul was ripped from his body, the influx of Yondaime's chakra caused it to transcend. In other words, it became a god."

Hiashi paled again. If Kyuubi had been powerful before… He shuddered.

"It appears that Kyuubi left a gift for Naruto when it left. Those eyes of his were it. Naruto told me that it spoke to him, and told him it was impressed with the Byaakugan, and used it as a model for Naruto's own bloodline. That is quite some praise, coming from a former Demon Lord and a Lesser God."

Hiashi smiled at the thought. Before he could let his mind wander, he jerked himself back to reality.

"I see. I'll see to it that the boy's belongings are fetched from his… apartment. Is there anything else you need, Hokage-sama?"

"No, Hiashi, that is all. It appears that I am indebted to you. Should you need a favor, ask me, and I will do my best within the limits of my powers to see it accomplished."

Sandaime grimaced at the horrible amount of political power he just placed in the hands of an already powerful clan head. But for Naruto, it was worth it.

"Then I shall be on my way."

Hiashi turned to a now nervous Naruto.

"Come, child. I'll show you to your new house."

And with that, Naruto found himself thrust into a new life with its own difficulties and advantages. Despite the drawbacks, it was better than what he had before, and he was content.

Hey there, Halo here. How do you like it? its onlya oneshot atm, but if you like it, and i get good reviews, ill write some more chapters. anway, i dont have alot to say atm, but check out my other stories! Laters!


	2. Chapter 2

Hey, everyone, Halo here! Wow, I didn't expect this much of a response for the first chapter, and in 12 hours no less! What really hurts is that this story has had more reviews than my other story, which has been up for about a month or so. Strange, huh? And this story was one I just had to get off my mind, and I only published it at the insistence of my Beta reader. She got bored, so I typed this up for her and the rest is history. Anyway, I'm going to respond to your reviews now.

**To Randomly Random Randomness**: Dude, I love the name!

**To almost everyone else: **As you can see, I'm already writing the next chapter, so rest assured that I'll continue it. Also, pairing will be NaruHina for the simple fact that…. Well, ill just let you read about it.

**To everyone who commented on the bloodline: **Yeah, I know it's cliché, but Naruto doesn't have Kyuubi, although the seal does hold a massive amount of chakra. Therefore, I had to give him something that was cool, and I always thought that the Byaakugan was better than the Sharingan. I do admit that the trans-dimensional transportation powers of the Mangekyou Sharingan are pretty damn cool, I still liked the Byaakugan. So, I thought about seeing all types of chakra, not just the chakra in a person's body. Then, add on a missing Kyuubi who left a gift and throw in a small child, and BAM you have my story! I may add some other type of power to it later, but not till Naruto is in danger of dying.

I would mention other people by name, but most of you said almost exactly the same things, so this is just easier on me and my poor hands… But anyway, Thanks for the support! I'll do my best to make sure you enjoy this story!

Chapter 2

Hiashi looked at the peaceful face of the sleeping child. It had been a long day for the boy. First, he woke up with different eyes, and then he was told he would be moving from his home and he would be living with complete strangers. On top of that, he had walked for nearly three hours on a tour of the Hyuuga complex. Now, if all this torture wasn't enough, they threw out his orange jumpsuit and forced him to stand stock still for half an hour while they put this thing up next to him, apparently measuring his every proportion. Finally, they gave him a white tee-shirt and a pair of off white, almost cream colored shorts, and escorted him to his room. Being tuckered out from this day's adventures, he instantly fell asleep.

'_From what the Sandaime has told me, this child has led a tough life. It's rather obvious in his rambunctious behavior and poor… no, his non-existent manners. However, as he will be living with us, he must learn manners so as not to bring shame on the Hyuuga name. He has a long road ahead of him… I whish him luck.'_

"Excuse me, Hiashi-sama."

Hiashi turned to look at the branch family member who was bowing politely to him.

"Yes?"

"The counsel requests your presence immediately."

Hiashi nodded and started walking away. He stopped and turned back to the branch family member.

"Watch the boy until nightfall. If he wakes, take him wherever he needs to go. And if he's hungry, take him to the kitchens and tell the cooks that he has my permission to have whatever he wants."

"Yes, Hiashi-sama"

With that, Hiashi turned and continued his walking. Before he knew it, he was brooding. He wasn't even paying attention to where his feet were taking him. Before long, he found himself in front of the counsel chambers. With a sigh, he reached out and opened the door.

Walking inside, he bowed politely to the assembled Elders. After the formalities were out of the way, one of the counsel members spoke up.

"I am aware that one Uzumaki Naruto has been offered living quarters under your orders. Is this true?"

"Yes, it is."

"Would you care to explain to us why the demon child is living in the Hyuuga compound? Are you aware that his presence here mars the Hyuuga name?"

"Yes, I am aware of that. However, I have been informed by the Hokage-sama that the Kyuubi no Kitsune was never sealed inside the child. This has been confirmed by the Hokage-sama himself. Also, it appears that a Bloodline Limit has awoken in the child. It's appearance and its affects are eerily similar to that of the Byaakugan, and it is believed to hold the same secrets. Therefore, in order to keep the secrets of the Hyuuga secret, I have requested guardianship of the boy."

One counsel member, who distinctly resembled a rat (buck teeth and everything), spoke up. "You are aware that it is impossible to acquire guardianship over the boy. The Sandaime Hokage-sama had long ago emancipated the boy, giving him full citizenship and giving him full rights and privileges of an adult?"

"Yes, I am aware of that. But, in order to keep the Byaakugan exclusively in the Hyuuga family, I wish, with the counsel's permission, to betroth my eldest daughter, Hyuuga Hinata to Uzumaki Naruto."

If the counsel members were surprised, they didn't show it. A vote was taken. In the Hyuuga counsel, votes are taken using beads. A white bead is a vote in favor of the subject, while a black bead is a vote against it. A bowl with two sections is passed around the table, and each member deposits a bead in its respective sides. Whites on one side, blacks on the other. When the bowl reaches the Counsel Leader, he counts the beads and then proclaims the results of the vote. Just like he was doing now.

"Twenty-five votes in favor, Twenty-five votes against the proposition."

In the event of a tie, it is required that the Counsel Leader break the tie. His choice would change the future of the small boy who lay peacefully sleeping in his room, oblivious to the power this man held. The man held a clenched fist over the bowl. Everyone in the room waited, breath held. The man's hand slowly opened, and the bead he held in his hand dropped. It seemed to hang in mid air just long enough for everyone to catch what color it was. The white bead landed amongst its fellow white colored markers with a small clink.

Hiashi let out the breath he had been unconsciously holding. He smiled to himself, knowing that the secrets of the Byaakugan were safe. The Counsel Leader stood.

"The vote has been passed, the deed is done. From this day on, Uzumaki Naruto will be known as Hyuuga Naruto. He shall be given the status and privileges of a Main Branch member. Starting tomorrow, he is to be taught etiquette, poise, and the Jyuuken fighting style. He is to be refined into an honorable and polite Main Branch member. Anything short of perfection will be frowned upon."

The Counsel Leader struck a small gong.

"This meeting is adjourned."

Hiashi smiled and thanked the counsel. Tomorrow would be a long day. Hyuuga Naruto slept peacefully; unaware of what was to come…

To say that Naruto slept well would be a massive understatement. It might have been the feather soft bed he slept in, or the memory foam pillows. It could have been the silk sheets, or the goose-down blankets. It could have been that the sun wasn't shining through rips and tears in his curtain. No, it was that, for the first time in his life, Naruto felt safe. He no longer felt in danger of the villagers breaking into his house in the middle of the night and kidnap him, dragging him away to be tortured. With a yawn and a stretch, Naruto came fully awake. Just as he sat up, there was a small tapping on the door to his new room.

"Excuse the intrusion, Naruto-sama, but I have been requested to wake you."

'_Naruto-sama? No-one has ever called me that before…'_

The door slid open, and an eleven year old boy stepped into the room. He wore the typical white or cream colored jacket that all Hyuuga seemed to wear, along with black shorts. His right leg was bandaged down past his knee. He had black sandals. His hair was tied into a very loose pony tail. As he was a Hyuuga, he had the supremely pale lavender eyes, but the coldness in them made Naruto cringe.

"My name is Hyuuga Neji. I have been instructed by Hiashi-sama to present you with two things. A letter and a new set of cloths."

The boy held out a brown parcel in one hand and a scroll in the other. Naruto jumped out of bed and ran over to grab them with a small "Thanks, Neji-san!" Naruto ripped open the package haphazardly. He pulled out the cloths and hurriedly got dressed. When he finished, he looked at himself in the mirror.

Naruto did a double take at the image he saw looking back at him. It was like he was a different person. He wore black sandals with a small white Hyuuga insignia on the side. His black pants were neither too tight, nor too loose. He had a small section of white bandages underneath his kunai and shuriken holsters. The black shirt he wore was, much like his pants, neither too loose nor too tight. A small amount of fishnet could be seen around the loose collar and the short sleeves.

He slipped on the pale crème colored jacket. The design was exactly like his old orange and blue, only instead of red swirls, there was the Hyuuga insignia, the burning flames. The majority of the jacket that had been orange before was now a pale crème, while the parts that had been blue were now a grayish color. His new outfit combined with his new eyes definitely made him look like a Hyuuga. The only thing out of place was his shockingly bright blonde hair.

Neji just stood there, looking at him impassively. Life really wasn't fair. This child was proclaimed to be an idiot and a demon, and now was a Main Branch member when the Prodigy of the Hyuuga was a Branch Family member? The coldness once again took his eyes.

When Naruto finally finished ogling at himself, Neji spoke up. "Hiashi-sama had told me to tell you that you are not to attend the academy for the next week. You will be learning etiquette here for that time. After you have reached an acceptable level, you will once again attend the academy. After your days at the academy, you will return here to learn the Jyuuken style. In the mean time, before I escort you to your lessons, you are to read the letter."

Naruto looked up in confusion, before spotting the scroll. He cracked the seal and read it.

_Dear Naruto._

_Welcome to the Hyuuga family. From this day onwards, your name is no longer Uzumaki Naruto, but will be Hyuuga Naruto. You have been accepted into the Hyuuga family as a Main Branch member. As such, you will act with the honor and courtesy required by your social status. As a Hyuuga, you will be taught etiquette, manners, proper speech, and the basics of politics. Also, you will be instructed in the ways of the Jyuuken. You will continue your courses at the ninja academy after you have reached an acceptable level of poise. You are to dress and act with dignity at all times. You are to conduct yourself as a Hyuuga should. Any breaches of conduct will be dealt with severely. However, you will be granted an allowance of 10,000 ryou (A/N I'm making one ryou equivalent to one yen, which is roughly equivalent to an American penny.) per month. You will receive your first allowance after you complete your etiquette course. Again, I welcome you to the Hyuuga family, and I hope you will enjoy your new life._

_Hyuuga Hiashi._

"Come, Naruto-sama. It would not do if you were late to your first lesson."

Naruto looked up. He was trying to digest all this information. Thanks to how hectic yesterday was, he was more than accepting of this news. So, with a grin, he followed Neji to his first lessons.

Hey there, Halo here again. Well, this concludes the second chapter. Yeah,I know, it was kinda short, buti'll upload the next as soon as i can.I'm kinda just making this up as I go, so be prepared for plot holes. Well, till next time!


	3. Chapter 3

First of all, I would like to thank omegaguardian and Marine Brother Shran for correcting me on the spelling of Byakugan. Apparently, I'm wrong. Meh, anyone can make a mistake, right? cowers in fear as his beta whips him for posting without sending her the rough draft OUCH, IM SORRY, IM SORRY! Ok, to explain Naruto's bloodline, there' three main things I need to address.

Naruto's bloodline is like the Byakugan because he can see chakra. It's different because Naruto can't see 360 degrees, and can't see through walls and the like. However, The Byakugan cannot see natural chakra. It can only see human and demonic chakra (at least in my story, that's all. Also, summons are lesser demons in my story)

Naruto's body does loose all ability to create and store chakra. However, he can store chakra in the empty seal. The seal, like I stated in chapter 1, already holds a large amount of Naruto's chakra. It had been sucking it from him at a slow rate and was being used to heal Naruto at an extremely fast rate, much like the Kyuubi did in the cannon. This is where his ability to see all types of chakra comes in. He can use that to suck chakra from his surroundings. If he sucks too much, he could kill a person or a plant or something like that, so it should be used with care.

The rules of absorbing chakra are that he cannot suck more than he can use or store at the time, as it will slowly dissipate into his surroundings. So, when his seal is full, any excess will become a chakra shroud (think Kyuubi chakra in cannon) and can be used to block weapons and the like. The other thing is that normal humans can't stand natural chakra (unless they have this bloodline) so if people try to suck Naruto's chakra, they'll either die, or loose all ability to mold chakra.

Other than that, I don't think there's a lot to say… Oh, wait, any attacks to his tenketsu (sp? A chakra hole is what I mean. Until I get the spelling, ill just say chakra holes.) will not affect him, as he doesn't have his own chakra. Ok, enough ranting. If there's any other questions you want answered, ill either PM you or answer it on the next chapter. Now, ON TO THE SHOW!

Chapter 3

"Naruto… Naruto… Naruto-sama, pay attention…"

Naruto continued to stare into space. _'Man, this is boring'_ he though.

A ruler slapped his wrist and Naruto was brought back into the real world. Naruto mumbled a string of rather strong curses under his breath, thinking his instructor wouldn't hear. He was wrong. Of course, his reward was another slap on the wrist. It still hurt nonetheless.

"Naruto-sama, if you want to continue living in the Hyuuga manor, you must pay attention."

Naruto nodded, and after a few minutes diligence, started staring off into space again. The branch member sighed.

"I think it's time for a pop quiz."

This brought Naruto back into reality.

"Neji-san, could you ask Hinata-sama if she would join us?"

Neji nodded and walked over to a slightly open door and slid it open to reveal the Hyuuga heiress, red in the face, watching the lessons.

"N…N…Neji-n..ni-san H…How are y…you?"

"Hinata-sama" Neji's voice was as cold as ice. "Would you join us please?"

"H..Hai"

The shy girl stood up and walked over to Naruto and his instructor. Her posture was rather bad for the heiress of the strongest clan in Konohagakure. Her shoulders were slumped and she bent her back just a little bit in a slouch. Her movements were rather awkward, as she was just entering a growth spurt and was not used to the length of her limbs. She flashed a small, shy smile at the blonde boy. Her face was tinged a very noticeable pink, contrasting with her pale, creamy skin. No one knew that Hinata already knew Naruto. She had watched him during their time at the academy. She could name every prank he had ever pulled, as well as all the victims, whether it was a person or an object. Her hands instinctively came up to her chest, and her index fingers started pushing against each other, seemingly portraying her confidence fighting her shyness. Her shyness won every time.

"H…Hello, Naruto-k…san."

The instructor spoke up. "Now, Naruto-san, you must introduce yourself. And be sure to do it as I taught you."

"Konichiwa. Boku no namae wa U…Hyuuga Naruto desu. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Konichiwa, Naruto-san. Watashi no namae wa Hyuuga Hinata desu. It's a pleasure to meet you. I hope we may get along well."

Naruto smiled and turned to his instructor. "You did well, Naruto-san. Remember, when speaking to people of your own standing, use either –sama, if you respect them, or –san if you are unsure. You may only use –kun or –chan after you know them well. And it is considered very impolite to call someone –baa-chan or –jii-chan. Never do so unless you have known them for years and you are on very good terms with them. Now, you may go play with Hinata-sama for the rest of the day, if you see fit. Tomorrow, we will start table manners. Until then, Naruto-sama."

With that, the branch family member stood and left. Neji was left to watch over the two.

"Ano…Naruto-san… do… do you wa…want to g…go p…p…play in the g…gardens?"

"Sure Hinata-cha… uhh… I mean Hinata-san!"

Naruto stood up and grabbed her hand, dragging her behind him as he ran off in a random direction. After a moment, he stopped and looked back at the furiously blushing Hinata.

"Ano…which way are the gardens?"

Hinata blushed and giggled a little. "T…Take a l…left. Here, I…I'll show you."

Naruto thanked the girl as she started walking at a rather brisk pace. They soon reached the gardens.

The gardens were beyond beautiful. Naruto had never seen anything like them. The grass was cut a uniform length, and was completely even in thickness through the entire place. There was a small pond shaped like a dumbbell, two main pools connected by a channel. A small red bridge stood over the channel. Off to one side, there was a small shrine in the traditional Shinto style. Along the gravel paths that wandered through the immense flowerbeds were a myriad of stone statues. Some looked to be carved out of stone, other wood, and a few looked to be metal. There were even some that appeared to be solid gold. Near one side of the pond, a pile of stones had a small spring at the top. The water cascaded down the stones, creating an extremely relaxing trickling noise distantly similar to rainfall.

Hinata giggled as she watched her crush. He was standing as he had been taught. His back was straight and his shoulders were back. His chest was thrust out slightly, but not so much as to appear arrogant. His posture conflicted greatly with his expression. Naruto wore his amazement like a banner that said 'WOW!' Hinata was again pushing her fingers against each other. She was again having a mental battle. However, for the first time ever, her confidence won out, albeit barely. She reached out and grabbed his hand, leading him through the flower beds.

As she talked, her stutter gradually lessened, and had almost disappeared by the time they had reached the shrine at the end of the path.

Hiashi sat in front of the shrine. He had lit some incense for his deceased brother's soul, much as he did every day. He still blamed himself for his brother's death, and Neji's cold demeanor. He was meditating as he usually did at this time of the day, when he heard voices. It was Naruto along with someone he didn't recognize. The voice sounded eerily similar to his daughters, but it couldn't be hers. Hinata always stuttered horribly, and this girl showed almost no sign of such an impediment. Finally, the voices stopped, as their owners had rounded the bend to see Hiashi sitting there in the Lotus position. (think Indian style)

With a small "eep" Hinata stopped in the middle of her sentence. Naruto grinned at the thought of being able to impress Hiashi-sama with his newly learned manners.

"Konichiwa, Hiashi-sama. Genki desu ka?"

"Genki desu, Naruto-san. It is good to see you have learned manners. I commend you in learning them to a decent level on your first day."

Hiashi opened his eyes and turned around. He was surprised that it was Hinata that had been with Naruto. The only surprise he showed was a raised eyebrow, and that was only for a moment.

"Hello, Hinata-chan. Are you doing well?"

"Y..yes, f..father, I a..am doing w…well. And y..you?"

"I am well. I was so pleased that you had been speaking without stuttering for quite some time. Perhaps you should speak with Naruto-san more often? Perhaps he can help you get rid of it permanently?"

"Yes, f..father."

"Perhaps you should spend the time between the end of your day at the academy and your training sessions in the evenings with him. It would be a great chance to get to know him, as well as to practice how to speak without stuttering." (Naruto and Hinata aren't going to learn that they're engaged until they're 12 or 13 or something like that.)

"In the mean time" Hiashi continued "I believe it's time for you to get ready for your training session."

After a few seconds of silence, as Naruto had finally learned not to speak unless he had something to say, Hinata said "Ano…F..Father, perhaps Naruto-san could a…accompany me to my t…training. Perhaps now would be a g…good time for him to l…learn the basics of Jyuuken?"

Hiashi looked genuine surprise. Hinata actually asked for something? She rarely did that, and with the fact that she wasn't stuttering as much as she usually does when she asks for stuff, Hiashi was now VERY glad he had taken in Naruto. He could already see the confidence growing in his little girl.

"Very well, Hinata. It is a good idea, provided Naruto can actually see the chakra holes. I will be attending a counsel meeting tonight, so I will not be able to train you. Tell your instructor to test Naruto. Now, I believe you need to find your training outfit."

Hinata nodded. After a quick bow, which Naruto copied, she ran off to her rooms. Naruto was hot on her heels. Fortunately for the shy girl, Naruto had enough sense to stop outside of her room instead of barging in like he would have done two days ago. After Hinata changed, they ran off to one of the Hyuuga training grounds.

Soon, things became a routine for Naruto and Hinata. Their skills grew, along with Hinata's confidence. After Naruto completed his crash course in Manners 101, his mornings consisted of a stretch and a few laps around a training field. After that, he would shower, and meet Hinata and some of the other young Hyuuga, including Neji, for a breakfast. Afterwards, Hinata, Naruto, and Neji left for the academy together. With Hinata's confidence growing, and Naruto finally getting quality instruction, they both grew into fine ninja trainees. Hinata was no longer considered weak, and her fighting was up to par with Hiashi's expectations. Naruto grew extremely fast, and it became obvious he was a natural at Jyuuken. His skills rivaled Neji's, and the three young ninja together could give Hiashi quite a workout in their sparring. Before long, the days turned into weeks, the weeks into months, and the months into years. Two years later, it was time for the Gennin exams.

A groggy Naruto rolled over in bed. He looked at the alarm clock sitting on the bedside table. It read 5:46 A.M. Naruto had woken up to thunder in the distance. As thunderstorms were rare in Konoha, all the light sleepers in the village were awake, Naruto included. To make matters worse, today was the Team Selection day. Naruto and Hinata had both aced the Genin Exams, so were ready to be placed on a 3-man Genin team. Today was the day they would be selected. Naruto could only hope he would be on a team with Hinata.

Naruto groaned and got out of bed. He threw on his cloths and went to meditate in the main gardens. It was the same ones Hinata had shown him two years ago. Hinata… For some reason, whenever Naruto thought about her, he felt… a tightness in his chest. He didn't know what it was, but he knew that he liked her. She was his best friend. He had other friends, sure, but she was his first. The others at the academy had grown to be a lot nicer to him, but that was mostly due to the fact that the Sandaime had publicly announced the 'destruction' of the Kyuubi, the fact it wasn't sealed inside Naruto, and also Naruto's legacy. The populace of Konoha was rather shocked that their scapegoat that they had treated like dirt for the first ten years of his life was the son of their hero. That fact, coupled with the fact that he was now officially a Hyuuga, Naruto was now very popular. Many people felt bad for how they had treated him, and many had asked for forgiveness. Naruto gladly gave it to them. It appeared that Naruto became just as popular as Uchiha Sasuke, and even had a following of his own. Recently, it appeared that the two clubs had combined into the Hyuuga Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke Fan Club. Now, both of the boys had their own share of rabid fan girls, although Hinata's subtle glares and whispered threats kept them off of Naruto… at least when she was around.

Naruto was snapped out of his mental ranting by light footsteps behind him. Two silky smooth hands covered his already closed eyes, and a voice that made his heart skip a beat said "Guess who!"

Naruto instantly burst into a huge foxy grin. "Hinata-chan, I know it's you."

A fit of giggling met his ears. "You're perceptive this morning, Naruto-kun."

Hinata grabbed his arm and pulled him up. "Come on, let's go get some breakfast."

After a rather refreshing breakfast and a shower afterwards, Naruto met up with Hinata at the front gates. Neji had already left to meet up with his team. Naruto still doesn't know how the green spandex could allow that Jounin to sprout a clone… but he decided not to think about it too hard. The green spandex seemed to be a living thing… as did those things that sat over their eyebrows…

"You ready to go?"

Hinata nodded, and the pair took off to the academy. After dodging several groups of fan girls, accidentally knocking Sasuke from his tree into their waiting arms, and sprinting the last 100 yards to the academy entrance, they made their way to their homeroom. After a few minutes, Iruka-sensei entered the classroom.

"Ok, as you all are aware, today is the Team Selection day. Usually, the teams are selected by grade, taking the highest scoring students, the lowest scoring students, and someone from the middle to be on a team to balance it out. However, the Hokage-sama hand picked the teams this year. Team 1…"

At this point, Naruto and Hinata were chatting in whispers in the back of the class. Sasuke was brooding, but Naruto and Hinata were trying to suppress laughter at the obvious signs of lipstick all over his face. Apparently, the girls had gotten the best of him today…

"… seven, Hyuuga Naruto, Hyuuga Hinata, and Akimichi Chouji, I repeat, Team Seven, Hyuuga Naruto, Hyuuga Hinata, and Akimichi Chouji. Your sensei is… Morino Ibiki. Team 8, Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, and Yamanaka Ino, your sensei is Sarutobi Asuma. Team 9, Nara Shikamaru, Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino, your sensei is Yuuhi Kurenai Team 10…"

Naruto and Hinata looked at each other and grinned. They were on a team together!

"And that concludes the Team placement. You're now free to eat lunch, and I suggest you use this time to get to know your teammates. You're dismissed."

Naruto and Hinata happily chatted with each other until they found their teammate. Naruto was the first to introduce himself.

"Hi. I'm Hyuuga Naruto. Nice to meet you."

Chouji looked up. He had been devastated that he wasn't on the same team with Shikamaru, and even more so that he had been put with two of the most important people his age in Konoha. Hyuuga Naruto was the son of the Yondaime, and had a yet unnamed Bloodline, and Hyuuga Hinata was the heir to the Hyuuga clan, and one of the most eligible bacheloret in Konoha. How could he even keep up with these two? They were two of the best in the class, and he was at the bottom.

"Hello. I'm Akimichi Chouji. Nice…to meet…you"

"You're an Akimichi, aren't you? I'm Hyuuga Hinata, and it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm glad you're on our team. That Meat Tank is a really powerful jutsu, and I cant wait to see it in action!"

"Yeah, me either!"

Chouji couldn't believe his ears! One of the strongest academy students and heir to the Hyuuga clan had just complemented him? And on top of that, the son of the Yondaime was agreeing with her? Chouji looked at the sky, expecting it to drop at any moment.

Smiling, Chouji felt that somehow, it wouldn't be as bad as he thought…

Halo here. Yeah, I tried to do a lil bit of comedy, but I'm not very good. So, don't kill me. Also, I don't speak Japanese fluently, so expect some mistakes. Anyway, I'm tired as it is 2:30 A.M, and I'm gonna post and go to bed. Hope you enjoy it!


	4. Chapter 4

Ok, Halo here. I decided I'd leave the explanation, only put the Chapter after it.

First of all, I would like to thank Marine Brother Shran for his well thought out critiques and for raising several good questions. I can see you really love your anime! Kudos to you!

Ok, addressing the first concern. Morino Ibiki. When I got to thinking about it, if Team 7 from canon had a teacher who, unlike Kakashi, would take time to focus on all of them instead of just one specific person, they could have been a lot stronger. Also, if they had been trained as a unit to completely work together as one unit, rather than three people on a team, they would have been a lot more effective. In my story, Morino Ibiki may be a Special Jounin, but that doesn't mean that he never took on apprentices. Here, Mitarashi Anko was taught everything Ibiki knows, and has taken over as the main Interrogator. Ibiki instead thought up a new way to train the recruits, and hand picked the three in Team 7 to suit his purposes. Although the Sandaime was reluctant to change the teams, he relented due to Ibiki's insistence. Should it not work out, the teams will be changed back.

Now, as for the teams.

Team 7. Naruto, as I said, would have a near infinite chakra supply. Also, he has the ability to mould chakra not only with hand seals, but with willpower. This means that he can use chakra in a similar way to those from the Star Village. (I don't remember its name) Meaning, he can attack with pure chakra from EXTREMELY long distances. Also, as he knows Jyuuken, he is very efficient in close combat. Chouji is known for his family's jutsu, the Baika no jutsu. Using it to create the Meat Tank, as well as the kunai strings to add spikes to it, it is an extremely powerful attack. Also, as he is constantly eating, he can convert his fat directly into chakra. Meaning he has quite a large supply, and combined with an array of jutsu, he can be a very effective mid to close range fighter. Hinata, even in canon, has some medical talent. She created a decent ointment and gave it to Naruto during the preliminaries of the Chuunin exams. So, combining that with her Byakugan and extremely good chakra control, she has the capacity to be a Medic Nin even greater than Tsunade. Her eyes can show any and all problems with the physical body, and with a little bit of psychology, she can find out problems of the mind. Ibiki, to be an interrogator as good as he is, must know a fair amount of psychology. Also, Hinata knows the Jyuuken, and combining that with a Chakra Scalpel, she can do both internal and external damages at the same time, giving her a large advantage in close range Taijutsu. And, as I said before, Ibiki though up a new way to train the recruits, and Team 7 are the test subjects.

Team 8. As we all know, Sasuke is a Ninjutsu specialist, even in canon. He stays that way in my story. Also, due to the Sharingan, he is extremely effective in Taijutsu, making him a close to mid range fighter. He has a decent long range with his kunai and shuriken throwing skills, so he is well rounded. Sakura has the best chakra control of all the Rookie 9. She will take up Asuma's trench knives. She will also learn how to create a chakra blade, as well as learn Tsunade's monster strength technique. Again, she will be a Medic Nin. Like Hinata, she will have a Chakra Scalpel, and with her strength, she is definitely a good close range fighter, especially when supported by Sasuke and Ino. Ino, with her Shintenshin no jutsu, has a decent long range skill, and combining that with some heavy weapons practice, she can be an extremely effective long range fighter. Now, some may ask why I torture poor Sasuke with his two most rabid fan girls on his team. This was the Hokage's idea. He knows that Sasuke wants to be an avenger, so he has hopes that maybe Ino or Sakura can get over their fan girlishness and find a way into Sasuke's heart, softening him up a bit and preventing him from defecting. This covers all the bases for Team 8.

Team 9. Yeah, I know they're usually team 10, but I changed things around a lot. They're probably the most specialized team of the bunch. While the other teams were built for combat, this team is solely for hunting, tracking, and retrieving. With Kiba and Akamaru's sense of smell, they can track a Nin or a group of Nins with ease. Shino, with his bugs acting as scouts, can function in the same way as a Hyuuga with an active Byakugan, only at a much slower chakra expenditure. Also, his bugs do eat chakra. Shikamaru is the brains of the outfit, as usual, and is the one who will get them out of the more complicated and dangerous traps, as well as setting ambushes and planning their next moves. Their strategy is very specific. Kiba and Akamaru track them down and distract them with their Gatsuuga. Shikamaru then enters the battle with his Kagemane no jutsu to hold their opponents down. Finally, Shino swoops down with his army of bugs and completely drains their opponents, rendering them unconscious or dead, for easy retrieval. By the time they have captured their target, one of the combat specialist groups will have made an entrance and can cover their escape. Combine this with the advanced Genjutsu skills that Kurenai can teach all three of them (Kiba might have a hard time with this) and they're an almost invincible team in their specific field.

One more thing, about Naruto's bloodline. I did say that he cannot produce his own chakra, and he can see chakra, but not through people or things. However, he can draw chakra from his surroundings to use as his own chakra, keeping him alive. Also, he can store said chakra in his seal to prevent himself from dying in his sleep. And, because his can see chakra, he can see the chakra that leaks out of the chakra holes. The chakra holes are meant to regulate chakra in the chakra circulatory system, so that the chakra doesn't destroy a 'vein' if too much is gathered in one spot. (At least, that's my explanation for them) So, because Naruto can see the chakra that flows out of the chakra holes, he can push chakra into those holes. Combine the effects of the Jyuuken itself, he also uses Nature Chakra, drawn from his surroundings. Normal humans cannot channel Nature chakra, and it can easily cause death upon entering your chakra circulatory system. Therefore, Naruto's Jyuuken can be a one hit kill from hitting your arm. The normal Hyuuga have to at least hit in the vicinity of the organs to do a one hit kill.

Yes, I know he seems powerful, but this was granted to him by a god.

Oh, and It was brought to my attention that the Chakra Scalpel doesn't pierce the skin and only does internal damage. So, therefore both Hinata and Sakura will be able to create a Chakra Blade on their hands, effectively cutting better than any steel weapon. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

And some people though I hadn't though this out. Dammit, I need to explain things better. Oh well.

If there are any more questions you wish to ask, Please don't hesitate to ask. I want my readers to understand what's going on in my story. And if you're lucky, I may give out a spoiler or two. Anyway, I hope this answers your questions. I may not update for a few days, depending on how quickly I can set down the plotline. Anyways, enjoy the story!

Chapter 4

Morino Ibiki was exited. Almost as exited as when he has a few new POW's to interrogate. _'Finally, I get to see if my theory is correct. Its gonna be hard for these Genin, and if they come out of this sane, they'll be the strongest of the Rookies.'_

He chuckled at the thought. Sure, he would have to mentally and emotionally torture them to mold them into both a weapon and a human at the same time. Able to kill without emotion, but also able to have a social life and retain their sanity. This would be fun, but he would have to tread carefully.

Ibiki found himself outside the academy.

'_Time to pick up my victims… uh… I mean my team.'_

He made his way to where they were waiting. A small amount of chatter came floating through the slightly open door. Ibiki jerked open the door. The slam it made as it stopped its sliding made the entire room jump.

"Team seven."

Naruto, Hinata, and Chouji had been chatting quietly when the door slammed open. A rather intimidating man stood there. The high collar of the black trench coat ringed the man's neck, coming up almost to his ears. He had two parallel scars running diagonally down his face. Underneath his trench coat, he had a deep navy blue button up shirt with its own collar hiding the man's neck. He wore his forehead protector like a bandana, covering the mans head completely, no hair showing. He wore nondescript black pants, and if he wore any shuriken or kunai holsters, it was hidden by his trench coat. His black combat boots replaced the usual sandals that most shinobi wore.

The three on team seven jumped up and followed the intimidating man as he left. Not a word was spoken as they traveled to one of the training grounds. When they reached it, he stopped and turned to face them.

"My name, as you already know, is Morino Ibiki. I was the Head Interrogator of the ANBU elite ops up until a few days ago, where I transferred my position to my apprentice, Mitarashi Anko. I did so because I wanted to train a Genin team. You three will be part of a six-week specialized training program. Now, introduce yourselves, and tell me your likes, dislikes, hobbies, and dreams."

Naruto nodded and spoke first "My name is Hyuuga Naruto. I like ramen, training, and my close friends. I dislike people who judge before getting to know people. My hobbies are training and practicing using my Bloodline Limit and finding out new things about it and its abilities. My dreams… never really thought about it… but I guess it would be to become as strong as I can to hold up the Hyuuga name and to protect my friends."

Ibiki nodded. "Next, you" he pointed at Chouji.

Chouji stepped forwards. "My name is Akimichi Chouji. My likes are food and my friends. My dislikes are people who call me… weight challenged. My hobbies are eating new foods, and my dreams are to become a strong ninja and a respected restaurant critic."

"Your turn" Ibiki says, pointing at Hinata.

The shy girl looked down a little bit. She started playing with her fingers, but stopped with a look from Naruto. "My name is Hyuuga Hinata. My likes are training with Naruto-kun and learning new things. My dislikes are people who are mean for no reason. My hobbies are training with Naruto-kun and making medicinal ointments. My dreams for the future…" The girl stopped there and blushed a deep crimson while staring at the ground.

"Good… now, you can forget about all of that."

The three Genin looked up at the man as if he had sprouted an extra head.

"Starting tomorrow at Oh-Six-Hundred, you are to report here every day. From now on, you do not have names. You are Team Seven. You will be called Alpha" he points at Naruto. "You will be Beta" he points at Hinata "And you will be Charlie." His voice was harsh, loud, and crisp. Imagine a drill sergeant from any army movie, and you get the general idea of what he sounds like.

"From now on, you are not human. You are maggots. Impress me, and you will move up to dirt. Should you manage to make me believe you are worthy of becoming a Konoha Shinobi, only then will you become Human. You are not to sit, speak, think, breath, or even shit without my permission. You will address me as Sir or Sensei, as you see fit. Do you understand me?"

The three could only nod

"When I ask you a question, you will respond either Sir, yes sir or Sir, no sir. Do you understand me?"

"Sir, yes sir!"

"I CANT HEAR YOU!"

"SIR, YES SIR!"

"Not half bad… for maggots. Be here at Oh-Six-Hundred tomorrow morning. If you are late, you will run laps around Konoha until I say stop. Understood?"

"Sir, yes sir!"

"Good. Dismissed." Right when the three finally though they were free, Ibiki turned to them. "Enjoy yourselves tonight. It will be the last chance you have in a long time."

With that, the three took off running, genuinely scared of the man.

Naruto was in hell. Only a week had passed since they had started training. When they got to the training grounds in the morning, they were told to run 25 laps around Konoha. When they were done, they did exercises like push-ups, sit-ups, jumping jacks, and a myriad of other strength-training exercises. When they finished that, they were forced to run through a mile-long obstacle course which involved them dodging kunai and shuriken, crawling under and over barbed wire fences, forced to go through mud on their bellies, climbing ropes and ladders, and jumping down a 30 foot cliff before climbing back up and doing it again. On top of that, if they didn't finish the obstacle course in less than 3 minutes, they had to repeat the ENTIRE process, laps around Konoha and everything. On top of that, each time they failed, Ibiki put a jutsu over them that made a miniature storm cloud follow each recruit, constantly raining on them. Needless to say, they were miserable.

Ibiki was a harsh sensei. He constantly yelled at them, throwing every single insult he could muster at them. If and when they retaliated, they were swiftly beaten and thrown to the ground. Then, because they rebelled, they started their regimen over from the start. It was brutal. It had been going on for a week straight, and by the time they finished at sundown, they were too tired to do anything but run home, shower, and go to sleep.

However, at the moment, they were crawling through the mud under a series of barbed wire fences, and were forced to stay down, lest one of the myriad of kunai and shuriken that were flying overhead hit them. And to make it worse, Ibiki was throwing insults at them.

"YOU CALL YOURSELF A SHINOBI! YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A TUB OF LARD! I SHOULD HAVE YOU SPLIT OPEN AND USE YOUR FAT TO BUTTER MY ROLLS! YOU ARE A DISGRACE TO HUMANITY!" He leaned closer. "Give up now, it'll make life so much easier on you." Poor Chouji could only keep on crawling, oblivious to the tears that were streaming down his already mud-stained face. Ibiki turned to Hinata, leaving Chouji to crawl out of the pit and run to the rope ladder and try to climb up.

"YOU ARE WEAK, AREN'T YOU, MAGGOT! ANSWER ME!"

"Sir, yes sir." Hinata's voice was barely audible

"I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"

"SIR, YES SIR"

"THAT'S BETTER! GET YOUR ASS IN GEAR AND GET OUT OF MY SIGHT, MAGGOT!"

Hinata started crawling faster in an attempt to get away from their instructor. He followed her progress through the course, and they finally reached the end.

"You maggots did better today, but you still didn't beat three minutes. Start your laps."

Naruto groaned under his breath, fed up with the torture. Ibiki heard him, instantly rounding on the boy.

"DID I JUST HEAR YOU COMPLAINING?"

"Sir, no sir."

"I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"

"SIR, NO SIR!"

"BULL SHIT! TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK OF YOUR TRAINING!"

"SIR, I LOVE IT SIR! I ONLY WISHED THE OTHER GRADUATES COULD ENJOY IT AS I DO, SIR!"

"Well, maggot, since you enjoy it so much, you can double all your exercises. That goes for your teammates too. NOW GET YOUR ASSES IN GEAR, MAGGOTS!"

The three trainee's started running, internally grimacing at the 50 laps around Konoha they were facing. _'Not even training under Hiashi-sama was this bad…'_ Naruto thought.

(Flashback)

Naruto stood in front of the Hyuuga, cringing in fear. The man was glaring at the boy. Naruto was seemingly useless. He was clumsy, moved extremely slow, and couldn't seem to get even the basic stances right.

"You're worthless. I want you to go through all the kata I showed you until you can get them right, and at the same speed I showed you. Until then, you will not leave the training grounds."

Naruto grimaced and started the most basic poses, gradually shifting through each strike and block before continuing to the next. Hiashi just stood there, watching the boy, and striking each offending arm or leg that was out of position with is cane. Around dusk, Hiashi left.

The next morning, Hiashi woke early and went to Naruto's room, expecting to have to drag the boy out of his bed. To his surprise, the bed hadn't been slept in. He went to the training grounds to see Naruto still there, running through each kata and stance. Hiashi was rather surprised to see the boy still there and awake, but even more shocking was that he had each one perfectly down. Hiashi smiled. _'At least he is dedicated.'_

Hiashi smiled at the boy, finally speaking "I see you got them all down."

Naruto turned to look at the man. He could only smile before he collapsed onto the white sand that was the training terrain.

Hiashi called for a branch family member to pick up the boy and take him back to his rooms.

'_That Naruto… he'll make a fine Hyuuga and an even better husband for Hinata…'_

(End flashback)

It was now the third week. Hinata was panting with exertion as she climbed up the face of the cliff, using chakra to stick to the sides. She had been the first to figure this out, and with careful whispers, she had told the other two how to do it. She reached the top and back flipped off of it, gracefully turning in the air. She hit the ground running, jumping and dodging the kunai that were flying from behind trees as she sprinted the last 50 meters to the finish line. Naruto and Chouji were only seconds behind her. The all crossed the finish line and turned to Ibiki-sensei. When he looked up from his stopwatch, they all snapped to attention, legs together and arms at their sides, head straight, shoulders back, chest out.

"You maggots did well today. You made it in less than three minutes. As a reward, I will now teach you some jutsu. Keep up the good work, and I'll teach you more each day."

Hinata was glad that he wasn't going to be adding more weights. At the end of their first week, when they finally finished the obstacle course in less than three minutes, he had given them bracelets and anklets that were 50 pounds each, and a 100 pound flack jacket. Yes, it was an extreme amount, but soon they got over it and learned to walk normally. Soon, they grew accustomed to the weight, but they were back to square one. It took them another week and a half before today, finally finishing in less than three minutes.

"Today, we'll be learning a different jutsu each. Charlie, remember these seals."

Ibiki flashed a series of seals at Chouji before putting his hand next to his mouth in and 'O' shape, blowing through it. A huge fireball exploded outwards, burning down several trees and scorching several others in the vicinity.

"That was Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu. Each time you fail to create a fireball earns you a lap around Konoha and a run through the obstacle course."

"Sir, yes sir!"

Chouji took a few steps to the side and started practicing his jutsu.

"Alpha, front and center!"

Naruto stepped forwards, directly in front of Ibiki.

"The jutsu you'll be learning doesn't require any hand seals. However, it takes an immense amount of chakra, as well as near perfect control to master. Gather the chakra in your palm. When your palm is glowing, thrust your hand forwards and release it in a cone shape. Be sure to let it explode outwards, like this."

Ibiki thrust his hand outwards and a huge blast of blue chakra blew outwards in a roughly cone-like shape. It hit several trees, instantly vaporizing the places they hit, and scorching the ones that only took a glancing blow.

"Now, get practicing."

"Sir, yes sir!"

"Beta!'

Hinata just looked strait at Ibiki walked up to her. He raised a hand, and a woman in a doctor's outfit walked into the clearing.

"This is Miho-san. You will be learning some advanced chakra control exercises as well as some medical jutsu. You will treat her with the same respect you show me. If I catch even a whisper of you not paying attention, you will run 500 laps around Konoha, regardless of the time it takes you to do so! Are we clear?"

"Sir, yes sir!"

"Good. Move out!"

Miho took Hinata and walked off to another clearing. Ibiki watched the progress of the other two, teaching them a new jutsu after they had mastered the previous one. And that became their routine. They did their laps, their exercises, the obstacle course, and then learned jutsu until dinner time. After they ate, they would return to the clearing to learn team strategy. By the time the six weeks were up, the three combined could take down Ibiki and leave him struggling to get untied from the tree they usually tied him to. He had even taught them a fair amount of psychology and 'interrogation' techniques. This included a fair amount of Genjutsu, so that aspect of their training was not left out.

The last day of training had arrived. They were not meeting at the training grounds, as they usually did, but at a small sparring field, complete with bleachers and everything. The Hokage himself, as well as several council members were sitting there. It seemed that a fair amount of Jounin and Chuunin were also present.

"Today is your final day in training. You have each come along way since you were first put under my leadership. The first part of your task is a fight."

At these words, three tough looking Chuunin stood and walked onto the field.

"You must defeat these three using any means necessary. Kill if you must, but only as a last resort. Understood?"

"Sir, yes sir!"

"Good. Now, are both teams ready?"

"Sir, yes sir!" "Let's just get this over with" The Chuunin said.

"BEGIN!"

With a flash, Hinata dashed forwards. The Chuunin all pulled out kunai and were about to jump her when she jumped to the side. Naruto's palm was glowing. With a thrust, he yelled "Chakra blast no jutsu!" The Chuunin could only throw up a hasty guard and use chakra to protect themselves at the last moment. They were still thrown back from the force of the blast.

"Doton: Doryuu Taiga!"

The dirt underneath the Chuunin turned into a mud river. Although the Chuunin managed to twist in mid air to land on their feet, the mud was thick enough to make them sink up to their knees and hold them there.

"Hakke rokujuu yonshou!"

The world paused for a moment. Hinata took a deep breath, and slowly let it out. When the world finally started up again, her hands were a blur, striking each of the Chuunin too quick for even most of the Jounin to see. By the time she had finished her attack, she was on the other side of all three of the Chuunin. The Doton jutsu released itself and the Chuunin fell. They struggled to stand, but they found their bodies unable to respond to their commands. It was over, and they knew it.

"Well done, Team 7. Fall in!"

The three Genin lined up in front of Ibiki, standing at attention.

"About face!"

They smartly spun around to face the shocked onlookers. They were stunned that a group of Genin had just bested three mid level Chuunin. Several mouths were wide open, and everyone was staring. Ibiki decided it was time for the last test.

"Beta, one step forward!"

Hinata stepped forward.

"Kneel."

Hinata was down on her knees.

"Alpha, Charlie, you two are ordered to kill your teammate."

The tension could be felt as the two Genin hesitated. Finally, Naruto spoke up.

"Sit, I cannot do that, sir!"

"And just why not, maggot! This is a direct order!"

"Sir, I refuse to kill my teammate, sir!"

"Charlie, kill Beta and then take care of the traitor."

Chouji shook with rage

"Sir, I cannot do that, sir!"

"YOU TWO ARE A DISGRACE! I'LL HAVE YOU TRIED AND EXECUTED FOR INSUBORDINATION. YOU HAVE ONE LAST CHANCE! KILL THEM!"

"Sir, I refuse, sir!"

"YOU…. Pass."

The entire crowd just gaped. A now smiling Ibiki just stood there, grinning at his students.

"Sir, what do you mean, sir?"

"I mean you three pass. You passed the test. In our line of work, teamwork is stressed above all else. You three just proved that your teamwork could best some mid level Chuunin, and you three stuck together, ignoring ridiculous orders, even if it meant your deaths. 'A person who doesn't follow the rules is trash, but those who abandon their teammates are worse trash.' Remember that quote. Now, because you are no longer trainees, we are officially a Genin team. From now on, you will no longer call me Sir, but Ibiki-sensei. We will be taking missions from now on, although I hope you continue to train and grow stronger."

The three Genin, although they had been taught to stand at attention with no emotion, broke into grins. Ibiki walked in front of them and held out three objects.

"Here are your forehead protectors. Bear them with pride, for you are now Konoha Shinobi."

The three were overflowing with pride and happiness, now that their harsh training had been completed. They bowed deeply before taking their respective forehead protectors and wearing them how they saw fit. Hinata wore hers around her neck, loosely tied. Naruto wore his on his left leg, between the thigh and the knee. Chouji wore his around his forehead, but did not split his hair down the middle. The three were grinning happily, finally able to wear them for the first time.

"Ibiki-san, I am impressed by the first batch of students." Ibiki turned and bowed to the Hokage. "Should these three be able to live a decent social life on top of being shinobi, I will allow you to begin training some Jounin on how to train the next batch of Genin. If all of the next batch turn out as good as this one, I will make the Morino Method standard for all academy graduates to participate in before becoming Genin. I believe that a much more intense program should be used to train Jounin for their special classes, such as ANBU or Hunter Nin, or Combat Specialist. I believe you are the man for the job. However, because you took on a Genin team, you must see them through until one is a Chuunin and can take over as Team Leader. Report at my office at 8 o'clock tomorrow for your first batch of missions."

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

Ibiki turned towards the Genin once again.

"You three have the rest of the day off. I suggest getting back in contact with your friends. I'm sure you miss them. Oh, and one more thing." He reached into the pockets of his trench coat and pulls out three decently sized envelopes. "This is the payment you three receive for completing an A-Rank mission." Ibiki saw the confused look on his student's faces. "Your training was considered and A-Rank mission. You three participated in an experimental training program. That in itself is dangerous, but also you affected the outcome of the village. It appears that all Shinobi will undergo this training before becoming Genin. Now, go take some time off, you deserve it."

"Thank you, Ibiki-sensei" Naruto said. "Come on, Hinata, Chouji, Its time we visit Ichiraku's! You'll love it there; they serve the best ramen in all of Konoha!"

Ibiki smiled as his three students walked off. _'You three will become strong, and you'll go far. I wish you luck…'_

Hey there, Halo here. Sorry, I know the training was difficult, but I had to. It will change Konoha's history forever, and until the secret of this new training program gets out, Konoha will produce the finest ninja of all the Hidden Villages. I don't think this chapter turned out very well, but it was necessary to get it out. Next, we have OH JOY! D-Rank missions! And then, the usual C-Rank Wave Arc! Aren't you exited? No? DAMMIT. Oh well. Hope you enjoyed it anyway!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The three freshly graduated Genin were walking down the road, chatting happily. Of course, they were ecstatic that they had finally finished the brutal training program Ibiki-sensei had dreamt up. Thinking about it made them shudder, and they were sure they would for the rest of their lives. However, it did make them stronger. Far stronger than they had imagined it would. Hinata, although still shy when it came to people, was rather confident in her abilities on the battlefield. Although she no longer stuttered, she didn't slouch and slink around trying to avoid attention. She walked somewhat normally, although she still didn't like to start conversations. Once she was comfortable with someone's presence, she would chat normally with them.

Chouji was still somewhat 'big boned' even after the program. However, underneath the fat, there was a layer of rock hard muscles. Sure, he could still convert the fat into an instant burst of chakra, but it was supported by a large amount of stamina and slow releasing chakra from his muscles. His fighting style benefited from the change, as he was much more agile now, both normally and in his Meat Tank attack. With the addition of the spikes, he could change direction at the blink of an eye, and would usually hit on the first or second try. Even if the opponent was good enough to dodge those attacks, he (or she) would be either immobilized by Hinata, or destroyed from a distance by Naruto, or most often a combination of the two. Chouji's stamina is well complimented by the many jutsu he learned from Ibiki-sensei. He knew almost all of the Genin and Chuunin level jutsu from all five elemental attacks, as well as a fair amount of the Jounin level jutsu. He also knew a fair amount of special jutsu that didn't align to a certain element, such as Kage Bunshin and other such jutsu.

Ibiki, nor many other shinobi for that matter, knew a lot of raw chakra attacks. Most of the ones Naruto had learned were from memories of the Kyuubi's attacks. Although they really didn't know the names of them, in truth they were just the molding and manipulation of raw power. However, Naruto had developed a number of original attacks, such as the Amatsu Tenshi no Senshu. (Heavenly Angel's Bow) It basically created a rod of pure energy in one of Naruto's hands. Then, with a chakra string, he bent it and created an arrow of pure chakra. It worked a lot like a normal bow, but the arrow could do a myriad of things, such as explode on contact, or completely burn through an opponent. If he aimed the bow correctly, it could be used to knock out and even burn tenketsu. A burned tenketsu is like a chakra burn, but because of the damage, it is closed until it has healed. It requires a lot of chakra to use, as well as a rather decent spin to the chakra entering the tenketsu to do enough damage to burn it shut, making it almost impossible to use during close combat, making it impossible to use with Jyuuken. Because of all this, Naruto has become very skilled as a long range fighter, and as Ibiki-sensei had taught all of them Kage Bunshin, Naruto could create an entire army of chakra archers, making for a rather painful volley of well aimed arrows. It was extremely deadly. Also, Naruto was the Supplies Officer for the team, meaning he used special sealing scrolls to seal away the large supply of food that was consumed between him and Chouji. It saved both space and weight, and they could seal as much stuff as they had scrolls and ink without changing their weight too much. It also came useful for weapons and Medical Kits, and other such odds and ends. Putting the scrolls in plastic bags made them impervious to water, so the never had to worry about running out of supplies while on missions. Ibiki-sensei had really covered all the bases with his training.

Despite their intimidating skills, the three had come out of the training relatively unscathed, mentally. Although they hated the training, and didn't like thinking about it, they were all much stronger because of it, and therefore they were glad they went through it. If they had the chance to go back in time to undo the training, they wouldn't stop it for all the money in Fire Country.

Now, they knew that they were going to be accepting missions tomorrow, and were rather exited. But, they had tonight off, and due to Naruto's obsession with ramen, they were going to Ichiraku's. As they were nearing the stand, they, quite literally, ran into several rather grumpy people. Of course, no-one from Team 7 fell down, but the other people weren't so lucky.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry." Naruto said, extending his hand down to help up the person who was sitting on the ground, rubbing her rather tender behind.

"Watch where you're going, dobe."

The icy, yet apathetic voice that spoke was very familiar to Naruto.

"Ha, who're you calling dobe, Uchiha-_san" _Said Naruto, his voice having a rather stinging edge to it "As I recall, you were Runner Up in the class rankings, beaten by… who was it again? Oh, that's right… it was _me._ I guess I'm just not so full of myself that I go about claiming to be superior to everyone else because I scored higher than them."

The last Uchiha in Konohagakure, said to be the most cold-hearted shinobi in Konoha bested only by Ice Queen Kurenai, was _livid._ His face was a rather unhealthy shade of red, and several veins could be seen on his forehead and neck, sticking out rather painfully to everyone looking at him.

"You may be the Last Uchiha, but you're still no Hyuuga. Go off and play shinobi with the academy students. You're wasting my time. Come on, guys."

With that, the three walked off. Chouji, who had hated Sasuke because he was one of the kids that had teased him when he was young, just brushed past him, ignoring the Genin. Hinata made a quick apology and left with a small bow, but as it was little more than the nodding of a head, it enraged Sasuke even more.

Sakura and Ino were obviously torn between their two idols. Sure, most of the adults didn't trust Naruto, even after they learned he didn't have Kyuubi sealed inside of him and that he had been adopted and carried the full weight of the Hyuuga name behind him, but most of the younger generation was a part of the Hyuuga Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke fan club. To see both objects of their affections fight with each other was rather distressing. After a moment, the two girls started trying to sooth Sasuke's bruised ego and calm the boy down.

"Don't listen to him, Sasuke. You're better than him any day."

"Yeah, I bet he couldn't beat you in a fight if his life depended on it." How ironic those words would be…

Sasuke just brushed them off, shaking his shoulder to remove their hands that had been set there, and walked off, hands in his pockets, brooding.

'_I'll kill my brother, and when I'm done with him, you're next, Hyuuga Naruto.'_

With that, he walked off to go train.

When Naruto, Hinata, and Chouji rounded the corner, they burst out laughing. Uchiha Sasuke, although popular amongst most of the girls, save for Hinata, was not very well liked by the younger generation. He was coddled by the adults, and merely tolerated by his peers. His rather stinging remarks, when he spoke at all, were not taken kindly by their targets.

"Nice one, Naruto. You really handed it to him on a silver platter." Chouji said, with a large grin

"Naruto-kun, you play the part of a stuck up Hyuuga almost as good as Neji-nii-san. Although, I'm glad that you don't have a stick up your ass, like he does" Hinata said, with a small giggle.

"Yeah, and that Sasuke is even worse. He doesn't just have a stick up his ass, he's got an icicle. Always trying to out do everyone and I don't thing even Neji-san would even go that far." Chouji said, with a rather evil chuckle.

"Thanks, guys. I don't know what came over me. It was bad enough he thinks he's better than everyone else, but to call me a dobe when he scored lower than me? That just blew me over the edge. Anyway, there's Ichiraku's. Let's go!"

As they walked under the flaps to enter the small stand, they saw three of the stools were already occupied.

"Hey, Shikamaru! Long time, no see!" Chouji said, Shikamaru turned on his stool and stood. He was surprised when Chouji enveloped him in a friendly bear hug.

"Ack, Chouji, you're squishing me!"

"Oh, sorry." Chouji set him gently back down to the ground, and Shikamaru stumbled slightly after being let go.

"Troublesome… When did you get this strong?" Shikamaru, the laziest ninja in Konoha, had an interested expression on his face.

Kiba turned around to face the three newcomers.

"Yeah, how did that special training go under that madman, Ikibi or whatever his name is?" "BARK!" Akamaru was sitting in Kiba's jacket. He seemed to bark each time as an interjection to Kiba's outbursts.

A small amount of killer intent came off Naruto as he spoke. "His name is Ibiki, don't get it wrong again. He's a better sensei than you'll ever have, even if his training method is rather… unorthodox."

Kiba wilted under Naruto's glare, and Akamaru whimpered slightly. His eyes were as intimidating as the Hyuuga's in full Byakugan, although Naruto never got the veins and his eyes were always active. He softened and gave Akamaru a little pat. "Nice to see you again, Akamaru. How's Kiba treating you?" Akamaru barked once and would have been shaking his tail, if he wasn't in Kiba's jacket.

"He said he's doing fine, and I'm treating him well. You should see how strong he's getting!"

"Tch, troublesome" Shikamaru said, turning back to his bowl to eat.

"I would like to know how far you three have progressed as well."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Shino? You have a voice?"

They all face vaulted and Naruto laughed.

"Heh, sorry. Couldn't resist…"

"Yes, he has a voice, and I bet he could take you easily!" shouted out a rather pissed Kiba "BARK! Growl…." Again, Akamaru interjected.

"Well, then maybe we should do some sparring? We have the rest of the day off, and after dinner, I'd be glad to mop the floor with you… uh…. I mean spar with you."

They all sweat dropped.

"Anyway, I'm still hungry. Let's get some food! I'll have one pork ramen, three shrimp ramen, two beef, and a chicken to round it off. All deluxe sized!"

"Coming right up!" said a grinning Ayame as she prepared the bowls for their number one customer.

"Ano… I'll have a shrimp ramen"

"And I'd like six BBQ pork and three BBQ beef ramen please!" Chouji could eat as much as Naruto when it came to ramen.

The other team sweat dropped at all the food that had been ordered.

"Hinata-chan… do they always eat this much?" asked a curious Kiba.

"I'm afraid do. At least they eat with some manners, instead of choking it down as fast as possible."

Indeed, Naruto and Chouji were eating with a fair amount of manners. They gracefully lifted the noodles, allowing them to cool for a moment, before dipping them into the steaming broth before gracefully consuming them. Naruto had eaten like this since his adoption into the Hyuuga, but Chouji used to be a wild and rather rude eater, slurping and gobbling the food down as fast as possible. It appeared that the 'bonding time' during the week long survival training in the woods with Ibiki-sensei had allowed the Hyuuga to pass down their manners to their large friend.

After Hinata had finished her bowl, she chatted nonchalantly with Kiba, Shino, and Shikamaru while Naruto and Chouji listened while finishing their ramen. After the two finished, they joined in the conversation, and eventually the talk drifted to missions.

"So… Shikamaru" Naruto started "what kind of missions have you been doing since you graduated?"

Shikamaru tilted his head back and rubbed his temples with one hand, it covering his eyes in the process. "So troublesome…"

Naruto raised an eyebrow at his behavior.

"They suck!" yelled Kiba. "All these D-rank missions are nothing more than shit jobs! What does catching the Daimyo's cat and babysitting have to do with being a ninja? For Kami-sama's sake, the Academy Students should have these missions, not Genin! I'm more than ready for a challenge!" "BARK!" Akamaru sounded both pissed and annoyed at the same time, pretty good for a dog.

"I agree with Kiba." Said Shino, and for the first time ever, the collected group actually saw him bristling with anger and annoyance. He noticed them staring at him. "What?"

"Nothing…" they all said in unison, finding various objects around them suddenly incredibly interesting… who knew that salt shakers and the back of Ayame's head could be so interesting?

After a moment of awkward silence, Naruto stood up and pulled out his wallet, paying for his ramen and leaving a decent tip. "Well, it's getting late, so if we're going to be doing some sparring, we should get going."

"YES!" Chouji and Kiba shouted in unison, eager to test their abilities.

"Troublesome…" Shikamaru said.

"…" Hinata and Shino just stayed silent, following Naruto as he got up, walking off to the training ground.

After a half hour, enough time for Naruto and Chouji do digest their food intake without worrying about vomiting during the exercises, they arrived at a training field.

"Before we start, we should all do some stretches and some warm ups. Hinata may be a good Medic Nin, but we still don't need to be pulling a muscle or tearing a tendon because we were careless."

Even Shikamaru, with a small "Troublesome…" joined the group in stretching and doing some laps around the training field. As they were not looking for an intruder or an observer, no one noticed that Sasuke had taken up a position in a tree with a pair of binoculars to watch the action. He had been brooding on top of a roof as the group went by, and had decided to follow them when he heard Kiba shouting out challenges to everyone, exited at the prospect of sparring with them. He had dashed home to grab his binoculars after finding out where they were sparring. He had arrived back in time to see them finishing up their last couple of laps.

"Ok, how should we do this?"

Surprisingly, it was Shino who spoke up. "We should go one on one fights. As a team, we are specialized for hunting and retrieving, not combat. We, as a team, only have the advantage with our surprise attacks."

Naruto nodded before pulling out a scroll, and after looking through it, he palmed a set of kanji. With a small puff of smoke, a board game puffed into existence. They all sweat dropped.

"Oi, Naruto, what's the game for?" shouted Kiba.

"I don't want the game, I want the dice."

Naruto pulled out the dice and gave one to each person. "Ok, this is how it'll work. The lowest rollers from each team will fight each other, as will the high rollers. The two left will fight each other also. Any objections?"

"Troublesome… but I think some rules should be placed down. One, no killing blows. Two, if the fight is getting out of hand, those not fighting will stop it. And three, no weapons. I don't know if Hinata can heal a pierced jugular from a slipped hand or a botched dodge. We don't need to be killing each other."

Everyone either nodded or voiced their opinion, and Kiba did so rather loudly.

"Good. Then let's roll."

Everyone took their dice and shook it in their hands.

"San…Ni…Ichi…GO!" Naruto counted down.

After saying go, everyone dropped their dice onto the ground, careful to track theirs and not get someone else's. The match ups were Chouji vs. Kiba first, Hinata vs. Shino second, and Naruto vs. Shikamaru third.

"Ok, Chouji, Kiba, get ready. I'll act as judge. When I call the fight, you both stop instantly, got it? Troublesome…" Shikamaru said. The two fighters nodded and walked out a ways, facing each other with glares.

"I'm gonna kick your ass, fatty."

Chouji only grinned, used to being called names so much that it didn't matter to him any more.

"BEGIN!"

Kiba shouted some random insults, and Akamaru jumped on Kiba's back. "Juujin Bunshin!" He shouted after a few hand seals. A puff of smoke later, and two rather feral looking Kibas appeared, one on the other's back.

"Let's go Akamaru!"

They both took off at incredible speeds at Chouji. A series of hand seals that were difficult to follow because they were so quickly executed brought out one of Chouji's favorite jutsu.

"Doton! Shinjuu Zanshu no jutsu!"

Chouji sank into the ground before Kiba could reach him. Kiba and Akamaru stopped, sniffing the air. Their efforts were futile, as Chouji was walking through the earth as easily as on top of it, and his scent couldn't be followed. Suddenly, a large mud dragon rose from in front of the boy and his dog, flying directly at them. They dodged in either direction as the dragon impacted the dirt beneath them. The mud washed over Kiba's legs up to and over his knees, effectively trapping him in the bog-like goo. Akamaru was buried up to his neck. Chouji jumped out of the ground, and as he was landed, he finished a bunch of hand seals, calling out "Katon! Housenka no jutsu!"

The fireballs he spat out impacted the area around the ninja and his dog.

"Ha, your aim is so bad you couldn't even hit us!" Kiba yelled. Chouji just landed and smiled.

"Try getting out." Chouji said. Kiba looked down and saw that the dirt around him had been solidified, and was nearly impossible to get out of. Akamaru could only whimper as he was stuck.

"Winner, Chouji." Said a slightly surprised Shikamaru. Chouji grinned and sank into the dirt once again, only to pull Kiba and Akamaru under and pull them back up to the surface.

Kiba looked crestfallen. Chouji reached his hand out. Kiba slowly moved his hand into Chouji's, and the shook.

"Good fight, Kiba."

"Thanks…Chouji."

"Ok, Hinata vs. Shino! Get ready!" Naruto shouted eager to get to the next match. The two fighters walked out to the middle of the field and nodded at each other. Hinata fell into her Jyuuken stance, while Shino just stood there.

"BEGIN!"

Hinata rushed at Shino, who just stood there. Hinata's hands were a blur as they flew out and struck several parts of Shino's body, flashes of chakra flying out his back. Hinata jumped away after noticing several hundred bugs trying to crawl up her leg. Shino just stood there, casually stretching his arms and legs, showing the Hyuuga heiress that he was unaffected by her attack.

"What! How?" asked Hinata.

"Your attacks are chakra based attacks. My kikkai bugs eat chakra. It's a simple matter of them coating my body and eating the chakra that would other wise close my tenketsu."

Hinata suddenly felt weak. With a blast of chakra and a spin, she activated the Kaiten to remove the bugs from her back. Jumping after she finished, she used several decent acrobatic moves to jump away. She made the familiar cross seal and said "Kage Bunshin no jutsu." Several Hinatas appeared, each one taking up a position around Shino. His bugs managed to crawl up one and after absorbing all the chakra in the clone, it dissipated. Hinata and her clones charged after the poof of the clone, throwing a myriad of Jyuuken attacks, as well as using a fist for several of the attacks, changing between physical and chakra attacks to keep Shino guessing. After a few moments, Hinata jumped back and her clones dissipated.

Shino fell down to his knees, and slowly fell face down onto the ground. Hinata stood back and relaxed as her opponent was down. Shino suddenly became a mass of bugs, which rose up in a wave and flew at Hinata, who jumped back and tried to dodge the attacks, only to run into the real Shino behind her. She spun around and attacked him. Surprisingly, Shino was decent at Taijutsu, and managed to either block or dodge most attacks. By the time Shino was ready to collapse, the bugs had reached Hinata and started draining chakra. They both struggled to stay conscious, but failed, and collapsed at the same time.

"…I guess it's a tie then…"

Naruto ran out to Hinata and started shaking her as Shino's bugs withdrew into their host's body.

"Oi, Hinata! Wake up!" He pulled out a soldier pill and stuck it in her mouth. She involuntarily swallowed. After a few seconds, the pill took affect, and her eyes flew open. She sat up suddenly and looked around. Naruto had just deposited another soldier pill into Shino's slightly open mouth.

"Naruto-kun? What happened?"

"Ano… you were sparring with Shino, and you tied. You both passed out at the same time. You were great! You kept him guessing the whole time!"

Hinata blushed slightly. "Thank you, Naruto-kun."

Shino woke and stood up, walking back to the sidelines. Hinata just sat there, staring into Naruto's eyes. _'So much like mine…but so different…' _Her thoughts eventually turned to… other things. She blushed more. Naruto stood up and grabbed her hand, helping her to her feet.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun."

"No problem, Hinata-chan"

'_He called me Hinata-chan!"_

Hinata blushed even more and almost fainted before she reached the others, finally coming to her senses as Kiba yelled "Wow, great fight, Hinata! I've never seen anyone move so fast! You were awesome!"

"Thanks, Kiba-san. You did well, Shino-san. Very clever use of a Bunshin hybrid. I thought it was you, but it really kept me guessing when it turned into a mass of bugs. You're very good!"

"Thank you, Hinata-san. You did very well yourself."

"So troublesome… I guess its time for our fight, Naruto."

"Yeah, I guess so… You ready?"

"Troublesome…"

They walked out to the middle of the field. Hinata decided to play the role of judge in place of Shikamaru, as he was now fighting. Sasuke, still unnoticed by everyone, looked on with anticipation. _'Time to see your abilities, Naruto-baka.'_

Naruto took up a Jyuuken stance, only where his outstretched hand should have been sideways, it was held much more like Rock Lee's. His back hand was held normally, and his weight was shifted backwards.

"Ready?"

"Tch, troublesome… Whenever you are…"

Naruto didn't notice that the shadows under Shikamaru were already stretching out to him.

"Begin."

With that, Shikamaru's shadow touched Naruto's, who was now completely immobile.

"Kagemane successful."

Shikamaru reached into a pouch and pulled out several shuriken. This was the normal Shadow Bind, not Shadow Imitation, so Naruto didn't move at all. With a flick of his wrist, Shikamaru threw the shuriken at Naruto, doing several hand seals along the way.

"Kage Shuriken no jutsu."

The three shuriken multiplied into sixteen shuriken. Naruto's eyes widened as they impacted. POOF! The shadow clone burst into smoke.

"Nani?"

"You think I'd fall for that? You underestimated me."

Naruto's voice seemed to come from both everywhere and nowhere at the same time. It unnerved the group, and Shikamaru most of all.

"Now, let's end this. Amatsu Tenshi no Senshu: Ya Seisha!" Dozens upon dozens of blue chakra arrows burst into the field from the woods all around them. They came from every direction and in such numbers that even as Shikamaru dodged the first ones, he fell directly into the patch of the next group. The arrows dissipated as they struck the shadow user, each one hitting like a punch. Needless to say, Shikamaru was hurting after that attack. He fell onto his knee as a final arrow came flying out of the undergrowth.

"Jinjifusei no Ya!" (Knock out arrow.)

The arrow struck Shikamaru on the forehead. He instantly passed out.

Sasuke had been watching the entire fight, and was surprised when several Naruto clones appeared underneath the tree he was sitting in. He was even more surprised when they both reached out their right hands and produced a large pole of chakra. Then, a chakra string attached itself to either end of the pole and pulled taunt, creating a bow made entirely out of chakra.

Sasuke was amazed. It would take incredible chakra control to make this. He almost fell out of the tree when each Naruto clone pulled the chakra strings back, and a blue chakra arrow appeared by their hands in the correct position. Each Naruto released the arrow and they sped out to their intended target: Shikamaru.

Sasuke looked through the binoculars again just in time to see Shikamaru get hit from all sides by a large amount of these chakra arrows. Then, finally, one last arrow hit him in the forehead, and Shikamaru dropped. Sasuke could only stand there. Naruto had used _clones _to make an attack that would require an incredibly large amount of chakra as well as the control needed to shape and shoot the bow! _Damn it! He's already so strong. I need to work harder to surpass him. If I can surpass Naruto, I can beat my brother…'_

The clones dissipated, and Sasuke jumped down and walked back to town, hands in his pockets, brooding as usual. He didn't even notice when Ino and Sakura threw themselves unabashedly at him, completely brushing off the two fan girls. He had a lot of training to do…

Hey there, Halo here yet again. To picture Naruto's Heavenly Angel's Bow, think about Ishida's bow from Bleach. That's a fair vision of the bow… actually, that was my model for the attack… Heh, I can't be original all the time! Give me a break! Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! It took me awhile to get the fights though up and typed, and even then they come off pretty horrible. I don't think I did a very good job on them… except Chouji and Kiba's fight, I think that one was ok… but in any case, you guys were calling for longer chapters, so here you go! In other news, my Senior year in High school starts in a couple of days, so I wont be able to update very often, so I hope I can update chapters around this size to keep you happy. Also, I managed to get a hold of a copy of Final Fantasy VII, PC version. Finally, after hearing all the hype around the game, I get to play it! I hope it lives up to its name… even if the graphics are kinda old…. Meh, if the game is as good as people say it is, it won't matter. As my brother put it, "If games were intelligent, FF VII would be a god!" Accurate description? Or not? I'll find out eventually…. But anyway, Review! Tell me what you think! I'm off to post this now, so Laters!


	6. Itachi's Bad Hair Day filler

Itachi's Bad Hair Day.

'_Kuso… stay up damn it!'_

Uchiha Itachi, one of the strongest men in the world, second most powerful man in the feared organization Akatsuki, couldn't seem to get his hair right. Usually his locks of jet black hair fell in the perfect Uchiha form. Today, however, it was limp and lacked its usual luster. It looked more like the hair of Maito Gai, but without the shine and a lot longer… And it seemed that no amount of hair care products could manage to conform it to its usual style.

"Kuso…" he said softly.

Kisame, Itachi's usual partner in crime, slammed open the door to the small bathroom that the two shared in their small apartment given to them in the Akatsuki base.

"Damn it, Itachi, quit playing with your hair and go to your meeting with the Leader. He's waiting." His voice dropped from it's almost shout to a grumbling undertone "Geeze, he's worse than a girl…"

"I heard that, shark skinned bastard."

"Shut up and get going. Geeze, if I didn't know better, I'd thing you were a girl. You certainly squealed like one last night…"

"SHUT UP!"

"Ok, ok, geeze. Just get your ass in gear. You know how irritable Leader can be in the morning…"

"Ok fine…"

Itachi walked out of the bathroom to grab his black cloak with the red cloud pattern on it from the floor, where it had been tossed unceremoniously last night before jumping (quite literally) into bed with Kisame. Down time sure was fun… He shook his head to clear away thoughts of his 'partner' for the last few years. Calming himself, he strapped on his cloak and strode down the nearly empty hallway on the way to the Throne Room.

He finally reached his destination, only five minutes late.

"Itachi… you're late…" said the nearly imperceptible voice.

"Yes, I had… business to take care of."

"No matter. I called you here for a solo mission."

Itachi mentally cursed, knowing it would mean less down time.

"I need you to investigate a rumor that has been floating around for quite some time. It has recently come to my attention that the Kyuubi no Kitsune had ascended after the fight with the Yondaime and was never really sealed into its container. I need you to travel to Konoha to confirm or disprove this rumor. You have two weeks to finish your mission. I suggest you wear something other than our… preferred garments…"

"Hai"

"Be gone by noon"

"Hai"

And with that, Itachi did the famous Uchiha Brooding Walk no jutsu all the way back to his rooms. Finally, after packing all three of his outfits that weren't black with red clouds, he bid farewell to Kisame and walked to the exit of their lair.

As he approached the guards to get them to open the gates to the world, one stopped him.

"I need to see your papers, Itachi-sama.'

Itachi held them out to the man, wondering why they were on the verge of bursting into laughter.

"Everything is in order."

Itachi turned to exit the base when another of the guards stopped him.

"Ano… Excuse me, Itachi-sama, but you have something on your chin…"

Itachi wiped his hand over his chin, indeed feeling something on it. He pulled it away and flushed in embarrassment at the sticky opalescent liquid as he quickly wiped it off with a handkerchief. By now, the guards had fallen on their asses with laughter as Itachi turned a red that would rival Hinata, although he didn't know this at the time.

"Thank you." He said with barely contained rage in his voice. He was pondering what sort of punishment he should dish out to the guards via Mangekyou Sharingan, but before he could decide, the gates were open and he was on his way.

Itachi finally made it to within sight of the gates of Konoha. Not wanting to risk getting caught, he used a Genjutsu to hide his chakra and make himself invisible to the naked eye. He turned himself into a rock and waited for a wagon to pass over him on its way to Konoha. When one finally came, he stuck himself to the bottom of it with chakra and waited for it to enter…

Two hours later, he was wandering the streets, looking for the entire world to be a normal civilian. Unfortunately for him, he just happened to be standing in the road of a stampede… of girls. As Uchiha Sasuke danced his way through the crowd, most of them parted to the side to avoid being run over. Itachi, unaware of the dangers of rabid fan girls, just stood there as Sasuke darted around him, unaware he was dodging out of the way of his hated brother. Itachi turned around just in time to see several very rabid girls send him flying with a combination of punches and kicks, pissed that anyone could get in between them and their beloved Sasuke…

Itachi could only think one thing as he flew through the air. _'I feel so sorry for you, brother.'_

As fate would have it, when he finally crash landed and skidded to a stop, he had managed to land in the middle of one of the few candy stores in Konoha. Shaking his head and slowly standing, he checked himself for injuries. The worst was a bruise on his cheek and his shredded pride.

"Welcome!"

Itachi looked up into the nicely plump woman who stood at the counter. He nodded and proceeded to look around the store, not wanting to draw unnecessary attention. His eyes fell on a strangely small cardboard box, its bright red background featuring white letters that read 'Pocky' and a picture of a chocolate dipped wafer stick. Curious, Itachi picked up the box, not knowing that this act would change his life forever…

He went to the register and bought the box, casually opening it and trying one of the sticks. He instantly fainted.

Waking up, he looked at the box in his hands. _'Surely, I have found my purpose in life! I shall eat this sweet ambrosia of the gods!'_ Needless to say, he was instantly addicted.

Walking out of the candy store, he was a rather strange sight to behold. Each and every pocket he had, as well as his back pack, was full to the brim of various flavors of Pocky, even some of the less popular ones. He had the usual chocolate and strawberry, but he also had a rare pina colada, the rapidly becoming popular mango, and even an extra special ultra hot cinnamon.

Itachi slowly wandered through the streets, munching box after box of his adored bonbon.

Suddenly, a strange scene caught his eyes. Two people who looked like exact clones of each other, save for height, build, and one flak jacket, stood in the middle of the street. They were wearing hideously green spandex suits that conformed to every curve of their bodies. Also, they had burnt umber… things around their ankles. Their bowl cuts were a crime of fashion, but nothing could have prepared Itachi for what he saw next. Above their eyes were two… things. They were thick, hairy, and twitched every once in a while, even if the owners of the faces they resided on where completely still.

Curiosity took over as Itachi walked forwards, chewing another stick of double fudge chocolate Pocky. The taller of the strange duo stopped hugging his shorter clone to stare at the strange man who approached him. Itachi carefully extended a finger, slowly moving it closer and closer to the man's face. He poked the apparently incredibly fuzzy eyebrows. A mouth randomly formed from the hair and attempted to bite Itachi's finger off. Incredibly, Uchiha Itachi, one of the most feared people in the world, screamed like a little girl and dropped where he stood, utterly unconscious.

Itachi slowly opened his eyes, blinking them to adjust to the noon time sun that shone down into his face. He slowly sat up to see himself in one of Konoha's many training grounds. The green clad duo stood in front of the training stumps, alternately hitting or kicking them. They seemed to notice Itachi's wakening.

"Gai-sensei, the flames of youth burn brightly in this one! The last person who fainted in front of us was out for weeks!"

"Indeed, my beloved and cute pupil! We shall celebrate his Springtime of Youth with a manly embrace!"

"YOSH, GAI-SENSEI!"

"LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI"

"LEE!"

"GAI SENSEI"

"LEE"

Itachi just stood there, staring as a setting sun shone behind the walking fashion disasters as they 'manly embraced' while crying into each other's shoulders. Putting his hands together in the Kai seal, he let the small Genjutsu disrupting technique do its magic. Nothing happened. The sunset stayed, the waves continued to crash, and the rocks underneath the two were still as hard as usual.

Itachi was spellbound. He couldn't believe the incredible amount of skill that was put into this Genjutsu! He activated his Sharingan, with a small Genjutsu of his own to hide the changing eye colors. Nothing. The Sharingan told him that there wasn't a Genjutsu there, and the scene was real. How in the world they could have summoned a seaside sunset scene at noon in the middle of a continent, no one could ever know… but Itachi was determined to find out. He pulled out a notebook and sat there, scribbling down notes left and right, describing each scene as it came to play with as much detail as he could.

For the rest of the day, Itachi followed the duo around town, even as they ran laps around Konoha on their hands. By the end of the day, his notebook was full, his Pocky was gone, and his wallet was itching to go buy more of his heavenly snack. So, after one last trip to the candy store, he found a nice tree to sleep in, and started drifting off. The last thing he though was _'Somehow, I get the feeling I'm forgetting something…'_

Halo here. I though up this little story a while back, and decided to put it in as filler because I'm currently suffering writer's block. I even posted a one shot, hoping it would help, but so far, I have zilch. Oh well. I hope you enjoyed the silliness, although I'm not a very good comedy writer. It's a nice break from the action/adventure, but it's still only filler. If you guys like it, I'll be putting little one page episodes at the bottom of each chapter. But, that's only if you guys want, this was just to get some stuff off my mind. Anyways, school starts tomorrow for me, YAY FOR SENIORS! My last year of high school. Finally. Now, if I could only find my calculator…. Meh, oh well. Laters!


	7. Chapter 7 BACK TO THE REAL STORY!

Halo here. I'm sorry this is so late, but I've been trying to get accustomed to school. So far, so good… but only barely… Anyway, one thing. I know that the traditional Ryou was worth a lot of money, being 16 odd ounces of gold. However, in my story, like the United States, the Elemental Nations stopped using gold coins, opting for less precious metals and printed paper. The reasoning was… well… with the drastic influx of money from industrialization, there just wasn't enough gold to make the money needed. So, the made the currency the currently use. Of course, because it wasn't gold, it was subject to inflation. And that's what happened. In my story, I don't care if 500 of the traditional ryou could allow one to live comfortably for months, here it's approximately worth $5 U.S. dollars. One ryou will be approximately worth one yen in my story. End of story. No flames please, I know how picky some people are about traditional values, but look at the value of the Dollar. If each and every dollar was backed up by a specific amount of gold, like it's supposed to be, it would be worth a lot more, but its not. Why? BECAUSE THERE JUST ISN'T ENOUGH GOLD TO GO AROUND! So, yeah… sorry about the ranting and the outburst. See what three days of school does to me? Even with a weekend in between, it just turns me into a little emo bastard that shows too much emotion. Like a mix between Sasuke and Naruto, only with less orange and no talk about 'Avenging' Yeah, in case you haven't guessed, I'm weird. Anyway, I gotta get back to writing. Thx for bearing with me!

Chapter 7

Naruto was getting his pack ready. After nearly a month straight of D-rank missions, the team was bored out of their minds. Finally, Naruto snapped and 'requested' a much more challenging mission from the Hokage.

(Flashback.)

The three Genin and their sensei sat in front of the Hokage's bureau. Naruto, despite having been coached by the Hyuuga to remain impassive at all times, had a strange twitch in his eyebrow that he couldn't manage to get rid of. Just the mention of the Daimyo's cat seemed to aggravate his condition. It didn't help that the subject of their conversation with the Hokage was that particular problem.

"… Wife's cat has escaped again. It was last seen in the vicinity of the Hokage Monument Lookout Point."

"Excuse my interruption, Hokage-sama" Naruto said. "But I believe that at the rate we have been accomplishing our missions would leave few or none for the other Genin teams. That would be both unjust and anti-productive. Is there, by any chance, a mission that would be a bit more of a… challenge for us?"

Sandaime Hokage raised an eyebrow at Naruto's behavior. _'His manners certainly have improved since he started living at the Hyuuga compound.'_

"I'm sorry to say that the last low C-ranked mission was just given to Team 8…"

It was then that the gods decided to pity the plight of Team 7 and arranged for their wish to be granted. The door to the Hokage's office burst open and a Jounin ran up to the Hokage's desk to hand him a sealed scroll.

"Hokage-sama, we have received word from one of the Chuunin Border Patrol teams. The team in charge of sector 15 on the border of Fire and Rice countries had suffered a casualty. They send a report via summoned hawk, and their report is in here."

With that, the man bowed and walked out, closing the doors behind him. The Hokage opened the scroll and read the report. Although he held his face in a sort of apathy, the look in his eyes seemed to tell both Naruto and Hinata, who have been trained in the Hyuuga way of reading emotions, that something was amiss.

"Well, Team 7, you are in luck. One of the Chuunin has been injured, and will require medical treatment. His injuries are severe enough that the team's Medic Nin cannot completely heal him. He will have to be brought back to the hospital. You are to escort the team of medics to the site, meet up with this team, and your team will support the other two Chuunin in their task of border patrol. This is a mid C-ranked mission, and there may be contact with enemy ninja in non-combat situations. Will you accept this mission?"

The three looked at Ibiki-sensei and nodded. Ibiki, in turn said "We accept this mission. When will the medic team be ready to leave?"

"They will leave by noon. That gives you 4 hours to prepare and meet them at the hospital entrance. Bring enough supplies for a two week stay. That is all."

"Hai, Hokage-sama!" the three Genin said in unison.

(End flashback)

Naruto studied himself in the mirror. His off-white, almost cream colored jacket would not blend well in the green of the trees he would be patrolling in. He smiled and reached into his closet to pull out his new outfit he had recently acquired…

(Flashback…. Again…)

The day before their meeting with the Hokage, Naruto was taking a couple hours to relax. Not content in the stuffy Hyuuga compound, he decided that he would go shopping. Strange thing for a man to do…

In any case, mostly he just browsed the venders that had set their wares up on the side streets. There were some interesting trinkets, but unfortunately for both Naruto and the vendors, the Hyuuga pride had really begun to rub off on Naruto. _'These things are only semi-precious stones set in common metal. Not something a Hyuuga should wear.'_

Soon, he decided to visit a weapons shop. Usually, he went to the one that was run by Tenten's family, as she was a good friend of Neji-nii-san. Today, however, his eyes were caught by a different store.

He entered the small shop and subtly admired the decent display of weapons around the walls and aisles. What really caught his eye was the glass counter and what was held inside it. The sign on top of the counter read 'Customized Forehead Protectors available here.' Naruto was instantly intrigued.

The owner of the store was, rather unfortunately, one of the few people that didn't believe the Sandaime when he announced Naruto's heritage and the fact that Kyuubi was no longer part of this world. However, this was offset by the fact that Naruto was not only a Main Branch member of the esteemed Hyuuga clan, but also held in high regards by Hiashi-sama.

"Excuse me, sir, but how much would it be to customize a headband from scratch?"

After a moment of mental debating, the shop owner replied in a rather neutral voice.

"That depends on what you want to put on it."

Naruto nodded and took a moment to think.

"Then I would like to purchase one."

The man nodded and pulled out a slip of paper. "And what would you like to put on it?"

"First, I want the metal blackened and unable to reflect light. Next, carve the Leaf symbol to the left side of it and the Hyuuga flames on the right. The only shine should be in the carvings themselves."

The shop owner wrote down the instructions and mentally tallied up the price.

"…The price will be…approximately 8,950 ryou."

Naruto dug out his wallet, thankfully not Gama-chan this time. He pulled out a 10,000 ryou note and handed it to the man, who got his change and handed it back. Before Naruto left the store, he asked the man one final question.

"When is the soonest I can it up?"

"Ah… for another 1,000 ryou, I can have it finished by 6 o'clock tonight."

Naruto smiled and flipped him two 500 ryou coins, which the man caught before smiling and wishing him a good day.

Naruto was in a particularly good mood, and decided to stop by a ninja outfit store that had been highly praised by several Branch members. Apparently, the shop was new in town, and the owner was from Wind country. He had a fair amount of interesting outfits in a style from an ancient civilization known as the Paashan. Making his way across town, he finally stopped by the store. Before he went in, his eyes were yet again drawn to a window display.

The mannequin that stood there had on the outfit that had caught Naruto's eye. It was completely black, and didn't reflect any light whatsoever. The pants looked to be skin tight, but were in fact quite comfortable, and near the bottoms of the legs it seemed to be tied by black bandages. The shirt was very much the same, but only the arms were tied. The pants and the shirt were held by a black sash that was barely visible, but seemed adjustable. The entire head of the mannequin was wrapped and the only place showing was a small slit for the eyes. Each of the wrapped areas had tails at leas a foot long that Naruto could imagine would flutter quite intimidatingly in a slight breeze. It almost looked like shadows were rolling off the outfit, giving it an extremely cool look. (Imagine the Sand Wraith Prince, from Prince of Persia, Warrior Within, only with a wrapped head instead of a mask.)

Naruto instantly went into the store and had his measurements taken for an outfit identical to the one he saw. He paid the shop keeper a rather sizeable tip to have it finished by nightfall, and of course the man complied, as he did not have too many orders at the moment. This was only his first week open for business, and word had not spread around to overwhelm him with orders. Naruto did, however, take the long piece of cloth used to tie his head up before leaving the store. Making his way back to the weapons shop, he instructed the man to put the customized headband on the black cloth so that it would be on Naruto's forehead when he wore his outfit. Looking around the weapons shop again, as it was around 5:30 already, Naruto decided to stay until his headband was finished. Strangely enough, today seemed like a rather compulsive day for Naruto, as his eye was again caught by something.

A small black box was sitting in the corner of a room. A thin layer of dust covered it as it had not been opened in a while. Carefully lifting the lid up, Naruto peeked inside. In black velvet, there sat two of the most exotic weapons Naruto had ever seen, along with an old looking scroll. The weapons themselves were familiar to Naruto, as they were merely a short sword and a dagger. It was the fact that they were both strangely shaped that caught Naruto's eyes. Both were completely black, but they had silver accents along the handle and guards. The hilts were inlayed with obsidian stones that seemed to shine with an inner darkness. Strange as it sounded, it's the only way Naruto could describe it.

Naruto grinned his true grin. It wasn't the stuck up Hyuuga 'I'm better than you' smirk, nor was it the 'I'm completely happy, nothing is wrong' grin he had used as a child. This was a foxy grin that, should anyone have seen it, would have made people shudder at the killing intent behind it. Naruto was imagining himself in his new outfit, wielding these strange looking weapons. He assumed that the scroll was a learning course on how to wield them properly, and he guessed correctly. Glancing at the clock above the counter, he picked up the box and headed back to the register to await the store owner.

Several minutes after 6 o'clock, the man finally stepped out of the back room, holding the customized Forehead Protector that Naruto had purchased. The man was smiling to himself as he saw the box, thinking _'Finally, someone takes an interest in those weapons. I was beginning to think no one would buy them. Let's see if I can't drive the price up a bit…'_

"Ah, I see you've found something that caught your eyes?"

"Yes, I have."

The two spent nearly an hour haggling a price, and the Icy Hyuuga Glare no jutsu that Naruto used was rather effective. _'Gotta thank Neji for teaching me that one…'_ Thought Naruto as he paid a decent 16,500 ryou for the box and its contents.

'_He he he, I doubled the money I spent buying this from that traveler. Life sure is good… especially when rich people are involved!'_ The shop keeper was grinning happily as Naruto left the shop with his purchases, heading back to the cloths store to pick up his outfit before finally going back to the Hyuuga manor and almost literally falling into bed, fatigued from a long day of shopping.

"Dammit, where's Naruto. He's usually not the late one. Hinata is missing too…" An annoyed Ibiki paced in front of the hospital. The medics and Chouji fidgeted, completely aware of how… testy Ibiki was when annoyed. One of the medics had to patch up a POW that Ibiki had 'interrogated' on a bad day, and she shuddered at the memory. To put it lightly, the skin was hanging off the man's face by a whisker, quite literally.

Hinata landed in the middle of the group and self-consciously brushed the dust off of her usual training cloths. "Gomen, everyone. Naruto told me to go ahead. He said he'd be a few minutes behind me. He was still in his room when I left…"

Ibiki sighed before speaking. "It's ok, Hinata. He'll be here soon, I hope."

At that moment, a figure seemed to melt out of the shadows. Shadow seemed to roll off of him and mix with the ends of the black bandages that floated around him, despite the fact that there was no wind at all that day. A small dagger was at his right hip and a hilt was visible over his left shoulder. (In my fic, Naruto is gonna be left handed, like me! ) Two black shuriken and kunai holsters were tied to the man's legs, as a usual ninja's were. The head was completely wrapped, only the eyes showing. Three strands of blonde hair partially obscured the man's left eye through the slit between the wrappings. The sight was so intimidating that killer intent rolled off the man, despite the fact that he wasn't consciously emitting any. Everyone there seemed to freeze up, except for Ibiki, who was used to these things. They half-relaxed at the sight of the modified Konoha Forehead Protector with the Hyuuga symbol next to it, but still kept their guard.

"Nice to see you, Naruto. I'm liking the new outfit." Ibiki said, dispelling the tension immediately.

Naruto put a hand behind his head, and a grin was visible behind the mask, as his eyes curled into their upside down 'U' shape, much like Kakashi's.

"It's not too much, is it?"

Hinata blushed because the suit showed off Naruto's well toned body. Chouji just grinned and kept munching his chips. Ibiki grinned in malicious pleasure as he said "It's great. I'd be useful to be able to intimidate this much during interrogation without even trying…" Ibiki drifted off, many of his favorite interrogation techniques running through his head.

"Thanks, Ibiki-sensei. Anyway, I'm ready to go." He shifted the pack on his back, also colored black. It blended well into his form, so much that it wasn't even apparent he was wearing one only after he shifted it. The small Genjutsu on it helped as well.

The group ran across the rooftops of Konoha and into the tops of the trees after they passed the gates. For almost the rest of the day they ran. Luckily, they had packed light, so they weren't too fatigued to set up a decent camp. That night, they took shifts watching and sleeping as they were nearing the border, and to watch for bandits.

The next morning they set out as early as possible. Few words were said in trade of better efficiency in their work. Small hand signs were their only communication as they ran. They ate lunch on the go, opting for highly nutritious and surprisingly tasty field rations and water from their canteens. Around 3 or 4 in the afternoon, they reached rendezvous. The two uninjured Chuunin were guarding the injured one, and jumped as the group entered the clearing.

"State your name and your business with us" One said, while drawing a kunai.

"Morino Ibiki, I'm the Jounin instructor for Team 7, and we're escorting the medic team and replacing your downed comrade for the duration of his recovery or until another can replace us. Here are our documents."

Ibiki slowly pulled out the specially sealed scroll and tossed it to the men. After they made sure it wasn't booby trapped (they're on the border and have an injured comrade, not to mention out numbered already. They're being very cautions) they opened it and read it, confirming Ibiki's report. They relaxed slightly, and the medics moved to treat the injured man.

"What are your usual patterns?" Ibiki asked the team leader. After they were explained to Team 7, the Genin team and their sensei took off to take over the patrol until the other two had a chance to rest, namely until tomorrow morning. The day was rather uneventful, consisting of little more than moving through the treetops and undergrowth about two miles back from the border, looking for any intruders. Hinata's Byakugan was more than helpful in their task, and the group didn't have to risk being revealed to look through rather thick branches or overgrown bushes. Naruto's bloodline was just as effective, but he didn't detect any human chakra other than their own and that of the Chuunin patrollers.

For the next week and a half, Team 7 fell into the rhythm of their mission, eventually earning the respect of the two Chuunin. The two had asked to spar with them, but found that they were on the same level as Hinata and Chouji. In other words, it was a long, hard sparring session between them, but it all came down to Endurance. Here, Chouji shone, while Hinata had to consume an almost dangerous amount of soldier pills. In the end, Chouji won, but Hinata only tied. The two didn't even want to try to take on Ibiki, and Naruto looked much more intimidating than the Interrogation Specialist. Eventually, they started taking shifts for their patrolling. The Chuunin would patrol from sunrise to about 3 in the afternoon. They would return to camp and eat with the just waking group two, which were Ibiki and Chouji. They would, in turn, patrol from 3 until around a little after nightfall. Then, they would return to camp and eat, only to be replaced by Hinata and Naruto. They would then take their turn patrolling until around sunrise, when they would return to camp and wake the two Chuunin and eat breakfast.

Right now, Naruto and Hinata were just waking up for their 3 o'clock lunch. Naruto yawned and stretched, using a combination of a low level Suiton jutsu and a low level Katon jutsu to make himself a hot shower outside the camp a ways. Now, usually one wouldn't think that a Hyuuga would be a… umm… well, they will never be called that, but lets just say that Hinata seemed to take after Jiraiya. With the Byakugan, it was more than easy to peek in on Naruto taking a shower. Ibiki knew what she was doing, but the others were still confused about her getting red in the face and springing a small nose bleed each and every morning… but they stopped worrying about it after the first few days. Naruto, of course, had no idea he was being spied on. Drying himself off, Naruto dressed and entered the camp. After a decent breakfast, the Chuunin went to bed, Ibiki and Chouji left to go on patrol, and Naruto and Hinata stayed behind.

This was Hinata's favorite time of the day. Her and Naruto could be alone from now until nightfall, and they usually spent it talking, sparring, working on jutsu, or just sitting quietly. Now was one of their quiet moments.

Hinata was, of course, in a mental battle. _'Come on, just gotta come out and say it… No, I'll look dumb. I gotta get him in the mood… but what if he gets uncomfortable? GAH I just gotta do it! Come one…come on… come on… Say it!'_

"Naruto… I…lo….. um… never mind."

'_Gah, why can't I just do it!'_

Naruto, of course, had a much different thought process.

'_I wonder when she'll tell me. I mean, come on, I'm not really that dense. There are only so many things I can ignore. I was taught the Hyuuga art of facial reading, there's only so much I can take. I swear, as soon as this mission is over, I'm going to take her out, maybe that'll get her to confess. KAMI-SAMA this is driving me nuts! Dammit, FUCK IT ALL! I'm just going to tell her I know.'_

"Um… Hinata…" Naruto's voice trailed off as a large explosion could be heard in the distance. They both turned to the direction it came from to see a large pillar of dust and smoke rise over the tree tops. The two instantly jumped into the branches and started making their way to the battlefield.

DUN DUN DUN! Lol, Halo here. Sorry about the cliff hanger. A little bit of fluff there. I'm not very good at it, though… bare with me, I'm still exploring the world of literature. Anyways, sorry about the wait on this. School has been boring, but I still have homework. Sienoritis has set in… Meaning, I'm getting lazier and lazier each day. Not that I wasn't lazy before… but now I make Shikamaru look active. lol. Although, I do like a good game of Shogi every once in a while. I'm still not very good. I cant even win one game against the computer on the easiest difficulty and all the handicaps giving me the advantage. Yeah… Meh, oh well. Thanks for reading, REVIEW! (hears rumbling in the background, only to see a crowd of eager readers and some yaoi fan girls attracted by the filler) AHHH! ILL POST RIGHT AWAY, DON'T KILL ME, AHHHH! ( takes off running)


	8. Chapter 8

Hey there, Halo here. I'm bored, so I'm gonna reply to a few reviews. Sorry if I don't get to your name. I'm just replying to the ones that either say something smart, funny, ask questions that aren't obviously answered by a little re-reading, or just made me laugh, whether by names, comments, or incredible stupidity. Although, there haven't been a lot of stupid reviews, so I'm happy. More time for writing, ne?

**TuxisGirl: **Lol, fine, ok. One week? That's fun. But, if I update late, throw in a little pleasure with the pain, ok?

**Qminster:** Yes, a agree, 12 year olds, even if they are elite ninja, cannot have like 100 pound weights to start off with. They would prolly be 15 by the time they got to that level. Also, I do agree that some stories have their characters as nothing other than muscle bound skinheads that only show off their skills cough DBZ cough No offence DBZ lovers, but it kinda just got old after the cell games. I mean, how many ultimately evil incredibly strong people can there be in the universe? Damn, have them come back alive or something. insert long string of curses here I liked your critique of the battles I've already had, and yes, I do make mistakes. But please, I'm not perfect, so bare with me, ok? Thanks. That's all for now.

**To everyone who commented on the new outfit: **Thanks, I'm glad you liked it. I was gonna go with a FFVII Cloud thing, but that's been used more than a two cent whore… um…. Sorry for the language. I though I'd try something new and POP is one of my favorite game series. The Sand wraith was always my favorite. He is not to be confused by the Dark Prince in the third game. Sand wraith is the guy you become in the SECOND game. Just to clear that up for the people who might make the mistake.

**To everyone who commented on Hinata: **Umm… well, to tell you the truth, I was reading a story the other day, but don't ask me which one. I read like 10-15 now ones each day, depending on their size. Yeah, I read a lot. But, in one of the ones I was reading, Jiraiya was commenting on the Byakugan, and said something along the lines of "Is very useful for peeping, I wish I had one. I heard somewhere that their clan symbol is actually a ward against the Byakugan seeing through their cloths for privacy reasons." (Insert perverted giggling here) Lol, ok, I liked that comment, and seriously, I'm surprised that in all the NaruHina stories I've read that Hinata hasn't taken advantage of her bloodline's skills. So, I decided I would. Yes, she's done it before the mission. Yes, she'll prolly continue to do so until they're married, in which case she won't have to peep. (Another perverted giggle)

Well, that's that. Also, in the (much) later chapters, when Naruto and Hinata are finally married (think after the tree year long training mission with Jiraiya) Do you want a lemon at that part, or do you want me to just… smooth things over? I'll take a vote on this, and each time I update, I'll tally all the votes up to that time. Well, unless I don't get any votes for one side or the other by the time I update next chapter. Then, I'll just say it's unanimous and go with that decision. Anyway, on to the story!

Hinata had her Byakugan active, scanning all around and as far towards the smoke as she possibly could. As they were leaping through the trees, she couldn't quite stop in her tracks, but she did manage to stop at the next branch. Naruto landed next to her.

"What's wrong?" he whispered.

"They're outnumbered. I see at least… 10 Jounin, 15 Chuunin, a score of Genin, and a squad of what looks like ANBU class. They're all from Sound!" The panic was rising in her voice.

Naruto let out a string of some _very_ colorful words that Hiashi would have paled at, if he knew one of his clan's members had said anything of the sort.

"What about Ibiki and Chouji?"

Hinata paled and looked again. "Unconscious."

"Shit." Naruto's eyes scrunched up, and it was obvious he was thinking hard.

"Ok, we need to get them out of there, wake up the Chuunin, alert any patrols in our vicinity, and get back to Konoha. Here's what we're gonna do…"

"Oi, Kenmaru, you sense anything?"

"No."

"The area is secure, right?"

"Yes."

"Good."

It was at that moment that Naruto and Hinata's plan commenced. Slowly, an unnatural fog that was tinted black rolled in from the forest. The sound ninja were on edge.

"AHH, WHATS THAT?"

A black specter that seemed to just materialize out of the mist was seen by the group in the edges of the clearing. Its eyes glowed blue, and the killing intent that rolled off of it made all but the ANBU and Jounin freeze up in fear. The shadows around it seemed to roll off of it and onto the ground. Many of the plants around the 'thing' were wilting and dying as if their life force had been sucked out…

As silently as it had appeared, it was gone. One minute it was standing there, and it just seemed to dissipate the next. Suddenly, without warning, 50 of these specters jumped out of the trees and charged foreword, each engaging a Nin, and all the ANBU were double teamed, as well as some of the Jounin. The fighting was brutal, but the 'specters' were held off. That is, until the volley of chakra arrows pierced the smoke left behind when each Kage Bunshin dissipated. Needless to say, almost all of the Genin and most of the Chuunin were either dead or incapacitated. Only two or three of the Jounin couldn't fight, but all of the sound Nin, including the ANBU, had some sort of injury, even if it was only a few bruises here and a closed tenketsu there. After the volley of arrows, the wind started to blow away the mist, leaving an empty clearing.

"Shit! Sir, the Konoha patrol is gone!"

"Damn it. Word could get back to their village. We need to catch them!"

As the group slowly pulled themselves together, they jumped into the tree branches to chase after whoever it was that had attacked them. Unfortunately for them, the trees were little more than a minefield of proximity activating explosive notes.

The first few explosions took out at least one enemy Nin each, but after that, they became more cautious. Unfortunately for them, this slowed their progress to a crawl. The snares and projectile traps added to their losses. Needless to say, they were pissed.

Hinata was again acting as the foreword scout. Behind her, the real Naruto was actively gleaning the chakra around him to replenish what he had used to make the mist, Kage Bunshin, the volley of chakra arrows, set the traps, and place the nasty Genjutsu in their wake. It was the finest one Ibiki had taught them. Basically, it made each person caught in it face their greatest fear. The thing was, Naruto had poured nearly half of his chakra reserves (from the seal) into making it. The amount of chakra was more than enough to give it the power to physically inflict the wounds the Genjutsu told their mind they had. It could easily be fatal. Another fourth of his total capacity was everything else he had done, leaving him at one quarter power. (At least, he's at one quarter of what he can access. I'll get into more detail later. To put it simply now, the seal can hold about the power of nine and a half of the tails of Kyuubi. The extra half was a buffer so that the seal wouldn't overload and break. Kyuubi was never sealed, so the seal was filled with Naruto's chakra, roughly the power of a Nine Tails in amount of chakra, but Youkai is much more potent than even Nature Chakra.)

'_If those ninja catch up to us, I won't have the power to stop them. I have to replenish my reserves as soon as possible.'_

The Kage Bunshin that were carrying the unconscious forms of Ibiki-sensei and Chouji were also gleaning small amounts and sending it back through the link into Naruto, effectively increasing the rate at which it was gathered. Unfortunately, the Kage Bunshin could only do so much if they didn't want to make themselves dissipate. They shrugged and kept at it as they made their way back to camp.

Kagemaru rolled over in his sleeping bag. He snuggled closer to his lover. Miho, in turn, snuggled closer to him. _'Damn, it's too early to get up. Man, now I can't get back to sleep.'_

He sat up and thought about how life had been since he'd started this assignment. At first, it was all business, patrolling the border with little interaction between his team and himself. But, as things progressed, Miho had fallen for him, and he felt the same way. At least their nights were no longer completely uneventful, so things weren't as bad as they could have been. Besides, there were no worries about Miho getting pregnant any time soon. Kagemaru wasn't a medic Nin for no reason. He knew all the most effective birth control jutsu, and used them accordingly. Fun.

Miho groaned and sat up next to her lover. "Kage-kun? Why're you awake so early?"

"I can't sleep, Miho-chan. something is telling me to get up…"

It was then that a group of the Kage Bunshin Naruto had sent reached their destination, Home Base. All of them except one quickly packed up everything into their respective places as neatly and efficiently as possible. One, however, had the (mis)fortune to wake up 'The Lovers' as they had been christened by Chouji.

He tapped the side of the tent a couple times to make them wake up.

"Oi, you two awake in there?"

"Yes, Naruto. What d'you want?" Kagemaru's sleep laden voice replied.

"Ibiki-sensei and Chouji were attacked, so Hinata and the Boss are taking them back to Konoha, and try to bring reinforcements, or at least alert Konoha to the apparent invasion force. Me and the other clones are packing up the camp and heading back home. You two gotta get up and follow us so we can meet up with the Boss."

"WHAT!" Miho and Kagemaru said in stereo.

"Come on, there's no time!"

A few minutes later, a (thankfully) fully dressed pair of Chuunin exited their tent, which was rapidly taken down and placed on the back of one of the many Kage Bunshin that were being used as pack mules.

"Lets go" a clone said before they took off in a seemingly random direction.

The three ANBU that were left alive were stalking the group of what seemed to be three Genin, one of which was unconscious along with their Jounin sensei. One had made some Kage Bunshin to carry their unconscious teammates. With a few hand signals, one was told to get ahead of them to stop them. After a few minutes, the ANBU appeared on a branch in front of the Hyuuga that was leading the group. To say that the ANBU was surprised at her next action would be an understatement. Most ANBU expect Genin to stop in their tracks and shake in fear when facing them. However, it seemed that Hinata had some built up rage to release. She did so, in the form of her attack.

"Hakke Rokujuu Yonshou!"

By the time she was done, the surprised ANBU had a large amount of tenketsu sealed up. Sure, he had managed to block about half of the attacks, but that only resulted in disabling his arms. The final blast had been to the heart and the forehead. The ANBU thanked the gods that he'd worn his forehead protector on his forehead underneath his mask. The mask cracked, but he was saved from death. He was knocked out though, and fell from the branches. The other two ANBU continued to chase their targets, oblivious to the bone crunching landing of their friend. It didn't help the poor ninja's career that he'd landed on his head, effectively pulverizing his spinal cord, severing most of the nerves in his neck. Ouch. Thankfully, he was unconscious before then.

It seemed that luck was with the other two ANBU. With a swift kick, a volley of kunai and shuriken, and several well placed blows, their targets were effectively held off.

Hinata struggled against the ninja wire that bit into her flesh, thankful for the thick leather of her jacket to protect her arms. She had been tied up, and was being held by her throat by one of the ANBU. The other was standing over her two unconscious teammates, while Naruto could only watch as the Nin holding her put a kunai against her throat.

"Move even an inch, and I kill her."

"Put her down." The icy cold look in Naruto's eyes and menace in his words told the two ANBU that if their hostages got away, their deaths would be slow and painful. But what's the worst a mere Genin could do?

"Hah, you couldn't kill a fly even if you wanted to."

"I'll give you one last chance." Here, Naruto activated his Amatsu Tenshi no Senshu and drew the string back, letting a chakra arrow form. "Let. Her. Go."

"What's the worst you could do? I'm an ANBU, you pathetic waste of sperm. You can't hurt me. You aren't even at the level of a Genin's shit."

With that, the arrow was released. Before it had traveled even a foot, it split into 128 different arrows. Naruto called out his attack.

"Amatsu Tenshi no Senshu Hakke, Hyakunijuu Hatchiya! (Heavenly Angel's Bow, 128 Arrows of Hakke. Note, this is an approximate translation. The only thing I know is right is the Hyakunijuuhatchi. I know enough Japanese to be able to count. You need to know at least that if you're gonna spend six weeks there. It helps when shopping in the open air markets. Venders need to be able to tell you the prices of their goods! )

The arrows sped around the Ninja, looking for all the world to have missed. The man's grin, although hidden behind a mask, faded when he saw each and every arrow curve around and strike him simultaneously. He was thrown into the air, dropping Hinata, and landed hard on his shoulder.

"Your tenketsu have been sealed. You cannot mold chakra anymore. Unfortunately for you, all my arrows have inserted Nature Chakra into your system. You have less than a minute to live. Goodbye." The smooth monotone Naruto said this in (think like Neji when he's talking about fate.) sent shivers up and down the spines of both Hinata and the other ANBU. They watched in horror as the Nature Chakra mixed with the Human Chakra. The result? A modified version of Life Force. Unfortunately for the ANBU, he was in a woodlands. As this mixture leaked into the ground, the grass underneath him shot up, completely piercing his body. The screams he let off confirmed his pain, only to be silenced later as the roots of trees pierced the man's body, sucking it dry of the precious mixture. All the plants that absorbed the Life Force grew before their eyes. The already gigantic trees shot up several stories above the others, and the grass stalks became as thick as Naruto's wrists, almost like bamboo. There was nothing left of the man's body save for a large clump of the super sized grass that fed off the corpse's nutrients.

The other ANBU was frozen in fear. It didn't help that Naruto's gaze switched to him. Before Naruto could react, though, the ANBU pulled out a kunai and threw it at the stunned Hinata.

"Hinata, LOOK OUT!"

Naruto's shout came too late. Hinata's gaze switched to the ANBU. As soon as her eyes made contact with him, she felt a massive pain in her left eye.

Naruto could only watch in horror as the thrown kunai caught Hinata off guard and completely pierced her eye. Hinata's blood curdling scream resounded through the forest as her hand reached up to try to stem the flow of blood that poured from her wound. Naruto dashed foreword as Hinata fell to the ground.

"Hinata-chan!"

Hinata looked up at Naruto's face as he crouched over her. She could only see half of what she usually could. A strange calm came over her. Her voice was wracked with pain. She shuddered and reached out a hand, cupping Naruto's masked face.

"Naruto-kun…Ashiteru…" Her body went limp. Naruto grabbed her hand and held it to his face. His tears were soaking the front of his mask, but he didn't care. He could only watch as his closest friend died in his arms. He was unable to do anything. His grief slowly changed, turning itself into pure rage. Naruto stood and faced the ANBU that had thrown the kunai. The killer intent rolling off of him was strong enough that it was being felt all the way in Konoha. They'd never felt anything this strong, save for from the Kyuubi.

Naruto reached down into his seal, pulling all the chakra he could out of it. It flooded and burned his chakra pathways. It wasn't enough. He kept pulling and pulling. Rocks and clumps of dirt and grass started floating into the air by the massive amount Naruto was gathering. A revelation came over him. _'If I draw much more, my chakra pathways will be burned beyond use. It's not enough! Dammit. Wait… what if I pull it not through my chakra pathways, but outside my body…'_

With that though, Naruto found the hole in the seal that Kyuubi had made while escaping it that fateful day. He forced everything he had out that hole, molding it around his body.

To the ANBU, he only saw the gaki shaking in rage. Boy was he surprised when chakra exploded from his body. The chakra was shining such a bright blue that the boy's shadowed outline was the only thing visible. Naruto's eyes were glowing the same bright piercing blue that his chakra was as his bloodline captured each and every iota of chakra his seal had expelled. He gathered it around him like a shroud. It took no shape or form recognizable. It seemed to float around the boy like a wildfire, but flowed and rippled like water. The chakra shroud was huge, fully taller than the trees, despite their recent growth spurt. It tore into the ground as it swirled around him, tearing spiral patterns that flowed out from him. Naruto finally had gathered enough.

Naruto stretched his arm out, his hand open, extended towards the shaking form that was a sound ANBU. The chakra around Naruto flew towards his enemy, completely surrounding him. It picked him up several feet into the air. The man could only float there, completely held by the chakra that was filled with the need for his blood.

"Die." Naruto's cold, emotionless voice would have sent shivers down anyone's voice, but no one save for his enemy was around to hear it.

The chakra formed a sphere around the man. Soon, the ball began to shrink, constricting tighter and tighter. The ANBU couldn't stop its inexorable pressure. Bones cracked and snapped as they were broken from the pressure. The ball continued to get smaller, despite the shower of blood that violently sprayed out from it. It kept getting smaller and smaller, squishing what was left into a tiny ball, smaller than a marble. The energy had compressed the man's atoms together into an ultra dense black stone. Nothing else was left of the ANBU, save for the kunai in Hinata's eye and the blood that coated the entire clearing.

Naruto could only smile to himself as darkness clouded his vision. His form slowly sank down, completely drained. The tiny amount of chakra left in him would keep him alive for little more than a few hours. '_At least Hinata's death has been avenged…'_ It was then that he finally drifted into unconsciousness, oblivious to the world.

Halo here. Whew, that was fun. I was thinking about continuing this chapter, but I decided I'd just post it and write another one later. I don't know how much time I'll have this week. Anyways, there are a couple of things a gotta go over before I post.

It doesn't matter how much chakra you have, it only matters how much you can force through your chakra system. If a Genin was given the same amount of chakra that a Kage had, it wouldn't allow him to do high level jutsu until his chakra pathways grew enough to accommodate the high flow of chakra needed. Naruto found a way around this by molding it outside his body. He is the only one able to do this because of his bloodline, so this technique would be useless for anyone else, and they'd just waste all that chakra. That's why Orochimaru's Cursed Seal needs a person to 'die'. They are forced to re-grow their chakra pathways to accommodate the incredible influx of chakra they receive from it. It's a decent explanations, I think.

The only reason Naruto and Hinata have been doing so well against the Sound ninja is because they made a great plan, caught them off guard, had several hours to set traps beforehand, and didn't try to fight them, only distract them to get their comrades out of the enemies clutches. If Naruto had stayed to fight, he would have died, even with his new technique to control his massive demon sized chakra stored in the seal.

Nature Chakra is like the chakra of the planet. Human chakra is the chakra of a person. Mix the incredible energy of 'dead' or non-living chakra with 'live' or living chakra and that's what you'll get. In my story at least. It's nothing more than Life Force on steroids. The plants were drawn to it, and it helped them grow at the rapid rate they did. It only lasted till it was gone, but it still killed the man. No worries about him coming back any time soon. I doubt his soul would even be able to re-incarnate after that.

The other ANBU. Naruto's chakra compressed the atoms of his body together to create the black stone. It took a lot of energy. Almost all nine tails worth Naruto could store. Before he was able to mold the chakra outside his body, he only had access to about 1/100th of a tail of chakra. The chakra he could access was roughly equivalent to a low or mid level Jounin. Yeah, he's got a lot more now. More than all of the Kages combined and doubled. Yep. It comes with a price though. Like I said, he can only draw so much chakra at the same time without killing plants or disrupting the planet's chakra. Sure, some plants dying isn't horrible, but if he disrupts the earth's chakra, he could literally cause the world to become unstable. Basically, the end of the world. Yeah, dangerous bloodline. I think Kami-sama would jump in before that happened though. You never know. So, because Naruto used up almost all of his chakra, it will be quite a long time at the rate it usually takes him to regain it all. About a year and a half. I've got another idea for it though, but you'll just have to wait.

So, yeah, that's all my notes. Not really a big cliffy, but oh well. Hope you guys liked it! .


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

To say that Kenmaru was pissed would be like saying Itachi liked Pocky or Naruto thought ramen tasted ok. It was a massive understatement. Two Genin. All it took to completely stop the first wave of the Sound's planned invasion was two Genin. _'Otokage-sama will not be pleased' _he though to himself.

Of the 4 ANBU, 10 Jounin, 15 Chuunin, and 21 Genin, their numbers had been reduced to 4 Jounin, 7 Chuunin and 9 Genin. All 4 ANBU had been wiped out by that… that… thing. The strange phantasm that was apparently a member of the Genin team supporting the border patrol had done most of the damage. How he did so was painfully obvious.

'_First, he played off of our fears, what with the creepy fog and that strange shadow that surrounded him. That was almost as scary as Orochimaru-sama on a bad day. Next, he surprise attacked us with Kage Bunshin and those strange chakra attacks. Then, his teammate and him carried off our prisoners and lead us straight into a fuck load of traps. We didn't see them because we were so intent at perusing them. Then, the ANBU disappeared as they were the only ones capable of following them. By the time the rest of us caught up to the battle sight, one was paralyzed from a broken neck, and we never found the bodies of the other two. It appeared that the last ANBU was killed in the initial ambush. Damn it all. By the time we had arrived, they had vanished. Damn it. At this rate, we'll never finish reinforcing our position before the Konoha forces arrive.'_

A rather long and colorful string of curses flowed out of the man's mouth. Under his orders, everyone who could make Iwa, Mizu, Kage, or Suna Bunshin were told to make as many as possible to speed up the process of building their outpost. It wasn't as far into the Fire Country as they'd hoped, but still…

Now, if only the Rice Country's army would arrive. Then they'd be set.

Naruto could feel each and every ache in his body. Pain flared up each time he was jolted, which was quite a lot. He opened his eyes, squinting from the light that shone into his eyes. His head was resting on the right shoulder of… someone. The evening sun was shining in his eyes. Naruto raised his head and took a look around. Miho was carrying a still unconscious Hinata. Her face was turned away from Naruto, so he couldn't see her eye, but she had bandages wrapped around her entire head. He was riding on Kagemaru's back. Some sort of solid Bunshin, whether it was Kage or any of the others, Naruto couldn't tell, of both of the Chuunin were carrying all the luggage that Naruto's clones were carrying before Naruto passed out and his clones dissipated.

Naruto groaned at a particularly rough jolt as the pain lanced through his body. It was his over strained chakra pathways that burned. _'Shit, this might take a while to heal.'_ In the mean time, Naruto racked his memories in search of one little piece of information. _'Did my clones get to the other patrols or not…'_ He continually searched over and over. Finally, it came to him. Only the two closest to their sector had been alerted, and had probably alerted the Hokage via messenger birds.

The two Chuunin stopped, setting down their passengers. With a nod, Miho took off to set traps so they could rest, while Kagemaru checked over the injured Genin.

'_Naruto is doing ok, despite coming out of a ridiculously outmatched battle. His chakra pathways are badly burned, but they should recover. Hinata… it's just too sad. In a clan that values eyesight above all else, she had a high chance of loosing her eye. I can't be sure yet, but… at best she'll have a blind spot right in front of her, even if it heals up. Well, unless Tsunade-hime herself came to heal her, but she hasn't been seen in years…'_

Naruto groaned and tried to sit up, only to fail and lie back down. "Water… please…"

Kagemaru held the canteen over the boy's lips so he could slowly drink. After nearly draining the container, Naruto nodded slightly in thanks and drifted back into unconsciousness.

Miho landed next to Kagemaru. "How are they doing?"

"Naruto will recover in about a month, and at least a week of that has to be in the hospital or his chakra pathways could be scarred permanently. Hinata… well… she'll be lucky if she doesn't loose her eye, but even more so if she still has any decent sight out of it. In any case, she's gonna be nearly half blind for the rest of her life."

Miho seemed to whither, remembering her and Kagemaru's original team mate back when they were still on a Genin team.

(Flash back) **Warning: This flashback WILL MAKE YOU CRY! Don't read if you don't want to!**

"Ohaiyo, Miho-chan."

"Ohaiyo, Kagemaru-kun."

The other person just smirked. His pale eyes were obviously that of a Hyuuga, but surprisingly, his hair was an almost exact copy of his pale eye's color, rare but not unheard of trait in the Hyuuga family. He wore the typical black pants and pale crème colored jacket that composed the Hyuuga training outfit. His left arm and right leg were bandaged. The pack he wore was light, containing only the bare necessities.

"Aw, Kenji-sama is in a bad mood?"

"…"

"Man, I knew you were good at the Hyuuga Grimace no jutsu, but to be able to maintain it 24/7 is nothing short of amazing! Its true that the Hyuuga are really great, aren't they, Miho-chan?"

Miho giggled "Of course. At least he isn't doing his signature move, the Hyuuga Monologue no jutsu. That one is truly scary!"

The two burst out laughing while Kenji just sat there, leaning against the building he was standing by, his face completely emotionless. Apparently the Uchiha and Hyuuga had something in common other than black hair, a doujutsu, and sticks up their asses. They also had that annoying emotionless face that was either annoyed, apathetic, or in an arrogant smirk. It must be true that they were related…

"So, you guys ready for the Second Exam?"

The Jounin that had landed near the three Genin was very… typical. He wore the standard Jounin uniform, and wore his forehead protector on, so uniquely (sarcasm…) on his forehead.

"Daisuke-sensei, you're the one who trained us. You of all people should know we're gonna kick everyone's asses!" An exited Kagemaru nearly shouted. He did shout and carry on when their team was first formed, but they had 'broken' him of that particular habit. It's a shame that the Hyuuga was too far gone… Oh well.

"Well then, it's almost 9 o'clock, so get going!"

(8 hours later)

Kagemaru was lying on the ground, his body partially covering Miho's. Kenji stood in the typical Jyuuken stance, Byakugan activated, staring at the three Rock Nins that were facing him.

"Give up your scroll and we'll leave… after we have our fun with the girl…"

"SHUT UP, YOU FUCKING BASTARD!"

Miracle upon miracles, Kenji spoke. "Its ninja like you that give us a bad name. Why don't you just run along and play with that microscopic thing you call genitals in the bushes."

"Why you little…"

The three attacked. Each and every attack was blocked by the Hyuuga, and several quite deadly counter attacks were flung back at them. Two were down, but the team captain was still standing.

He pulled out a kunai and attacked. Slash after slack was dodged. For nearly 5 straight minutes this went on, until finally Kenji was off balance. He was in a position that he couldn't correct and would either have to fall, making him an easy target, or completely stop to correct himself, which would make it easier to attack him. The Rock Nin's attack had just slashed diagonally down to his left. With a sudden reversal, the knife flipped from a reverse hold to a traditional hold. Before anyone could do anything, the backslash sliced clean across the Hyuuga's face. Blood flew through the air in little droplets, almost a mist, as the Hyuuga's right eye was sliced completely through. The ninja pulled his arm back and plunged his kunai deep into the Hyuuga's chest. Hyuuga Kenji, one of the more talented of the Branch members, was dying.

The Rock Nin spat on the Hyuuga's now prone form. "Pathetic. Wasn't even worth my time."

Rage overcame Kagemaru. Despite the kunai in his leg that made him wince in pain when he stood, it didn't stop him from activating the most powerful jutsu he knew.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu!"

The fireball caught the Rock Nin off guard. His screams of pain could be heard through out the Forest of Death.

Kenji was barely alive. His blood was slowly seeping out of the hole in his chest, and it coated his lips, running down the side of his face. It flowed freely from the gash in his pulverized eye. He coughed, tasting the metallic tang of his own blood, spitting it out as best as he could. Kagemaru was kneeling over him trying to reassure the dying Hyuuga.

"It's gonna be ok, Kenji. We'll get out of this. Don't die on me!"

"Where…cough are your insults cough now, dobe…"

"Dammit, don't die on me! You were rookie of the year, you can't die! Hyuuga are supposed to be invincible! I swear if you die on me I'll pull you back from the afterlife and kill you myself!"

"Cough cough cough. Will you do… one last thing..cough… for me, Kagemaru."

"Yeah, I'll do it. Just don't die on me."

Kenji reached his hand up and grasped Kagemaru's. He pulled out a kunai and slit both his own palm and his friends, grasping his hand. He let their blood mix.

"When I die… tell my cough family… the color…cough… of my eyes…cough brother…"

With one final fit of coughing, Hyuuga Kenji, top of his graduating class, smiled. Not a smirk, not a grimace, but a true and genuine smile. His eyes closed for the last time, and for the first and last time, Kagemaru saw tears slide down his friend… no, his brother's face.

His own tears were dripping off his chin and onto the dead boy's almost peaceful face. With one finger, he lifted the eyelid of his friend's unmarred eye. He was staring into a lifeless golden brown, a far cry from the pale lavender he was used to seeing. Slowly, he closed the eye again before crawling over to the unconscious form of his other team mate and sobbing himself to sleep.

(End Flash back) **Ok, it's safe to continue reading now. **

Before either of them could react, a large group of Medic Nin and two ANBU squads jumped into the clearing. They tensed up for a moment before recognizing the Leaf emblem all over their various items.

One ANBU approached them and said "Report?"

They explained the situation to them while the medics patched up a still unconscious Naruto, Hinata, Ibiki, and Chouji. They loaded them onto stretchers and jumped into the treetops, making as much haste as possible to get them back to the Konoha General Hospital.

"I see. You are ordered to return to Konoha and await further orders from the Hokage."

"Hai." The two Chuunin took off, passing another two squads of Konoha ANBU as they met up with the others. They followed after the Medic Nins, anxious to see Team 7's fate.

Naruto woke up to an annoying beep. It kept beeping and beeping. His eyes were attempting to adjust to the darkness while he reached over to where his alarm clock should be, trying to turn it off. His hand only hit air. Looking over, he saw wires and tubes coming off his body, and a heartbeat monitor. _'So that's the beeping I hear…'_

Feeling too tired to try to stand, but too awake to go back to sleep, he drew out a little chakra from his surroundings, testing his chakra pathways. They were still stinging in a couple of places, like his palms, but for the most part were in working order. They were much larger than before, but they still worked. Dropping into a trance, Naruto extended his awareness, slowly building links to his body, a trickle of chakra coming from each link into his seal, keeping him alive. Slowly, it would fill, but at this rate, it would take a very long time. Not in days, or weeks, but more in months. Around 16 at this rate, and that's if he didn't use any between then and now. He sighed and drifted off to sleep. The last thought that ran through his head before he finally fell into its kind embrace was _'I wonder if Hinata is ok…'_

Naruto finally woke then next morning, the doctor came in and gave him a check up. The doctor was at first puzzled as to why Naruto had no chakra, but Naruto explained to him about his bloodline and the empty (or nearly empty anyway) seal. The doctor was rather surprised, but eventually released him from the hospital on strict orders of bed rest for the next week and a half. No training, no chakra molding if at all possible, just the life of a civilian until his chakra pathways had sealed and he has a decent amount of chakra stored up again. So, naturally, the first thing Naruto did is… if you thought training you're wrong. He went to see his team mates.

Sighing, Naruto slowly and quietly pushed open the door to Ibiki-sensei's room. His Jounin instructor, although rather intimidating and very verbally abusive, had grown on the three, and Naruto wouldn't trade him for the world. He found him to be, surprisingly, awake.

"Ibiki-sensei, how're you doing?"

"Oh, I'm still rather sore, Naruto. The knock out poison they gave me wasn't really that potent, but it turns out that I'm allergic to it. So, my chakra is messed up for the next week or so. I'm stuck in bed till the day after tomorrow at least."

"At least you're alive. I'm glad…"

Ibiki smiled, something he really only did since accepting this Genin team.

"It's good to know someone cares…"

"…Ibiki-sensei, do you have… any family?"

Ibiki smiled sadly. "Not really. My parents were killed when I was a Genin, my brother ran away from Konoha and became a messenger, and my wife…" Here, he paused. The most feared man in Konoha was on the verge of crying.

"I'm… sorry. I didn't mean to pry…"

"No…no, it's perfectly ok. I'm… glad to know… that at least three people accepted me for me… not for my title. Being Chief Interrogator and Captain of the Torture and Interrogation Squad gives you a nasty reputation. I'm more than glad I gave that position to Anko. She's even better than I was…"

Silence slowly fell in the room. For a half of an hour, they sat in silence, just enjoying each other's company. Finally, Naruto spoke up.

"Ibiki-sensei… I'm going to go check on Chouji and Hinata. I hope you get well. I'd bring you some flowers, but something tells me that's not your style…"

Ibiki chuckled. Naruto stood and walked out of the room. Slowly, he wandered the halls, finding his way to Chouji's room. He slowly opened the door, again not wanting to wake his team mate is he is sleeping.

Chouji was still asleep. True, Naruto didn't get a good look at him while he and his clones were moving him from the ambush spot, but now, it was painfully obvious that Chouji had fought the group with Ibiki. Almost all of Chouji's fat had disappeared, and his well toned muscles stood out underneath his skin. Naruto smiled knowingly at the flowers and get well cards that were marked as being from Shikamaru and Ino, and a large basket of junk foods from his family. Naruto smiled at the BBQ Pork flavored chips that made up of most of the basket, knowing that was his favorite. _'I'm definitely gonna have to take him out to BBQ when he's out of the hospital. He'll enjoy that…'_

Naruto again stood up after spending a few moments with his team mate… no, his friend. He walked towards his final destination for the day, hoping and praying that she was ok.

(Flash Back)

Hinata looked up at Naruto's face as he crouched over her. She could only see half of what she usually could. A strange calm came over her. Her voice was wracked with pain. She shuddered and reached out a hand, cupping Naruto's masked face.

"Naruto-kun…Ashiteru…" Her body went limp. Naruto grabbed her hand and held it to his face. His tears were soaking the front of his mask, but he didn't care. He could only watch as his closest friend died in his arms

(End Flash Back)

'_Did she really mean it? Did she really love me? I know she liked me, and I know she had a major crush on me, but… was it truly love? And why do I feel like I do when I think about her… What do I feel for her? What do I truly want from her? Friendship or love?'_

Naruto continued to ponder this as he slowly approached Hinata's room. However, just before he entered it, a doctor stopped him.

"Hyuuga-san, Hinata-san is awake, but… I'm not sure if you want to see her. She… is rather depressed. I don't know how she'll handle visitors."

"Sir, she is my team mate, and more so, she's my friend. She needs me, and I'll be damned to the seventh layer of hell before I leave a friend in need."

The doctor recoiled at the killer intent and incredible intensity Naruto spoke those words with. He slowly nodded, lowering his head in defeat. Naruto slid open the door so see Hinata sitting up in bed, her head hanging down, bandages covering nearly half her head. It was painfully obvious from the dampness of the bandages and blankets and from the swelling around her eyes that she had been crying for quite a while.

"Hinata-chan…"

She looked up as Naruto walked over to sit in a chair next to her and sat down. She looked at him for a moment before looking away. _'He'll never accept me now… if I couldn't get him before now, then I sure as hell cant get him now that I'm…disfigured…'_

She burst into another wave of silent tears. This did not slip past Naruto. He leaned in and gave her a warm, comforting hug.

"Hinata-chan…"

"Naruto-kun… What…what will father say? I co…could barely pa…pass his tests be…before, but now…"

Hinata leaned into the hug Naruto had not broken, crying into his shoulder. He just sat there and held her, not quite sure of what to do. So he did what just felt natural to him. He softly patted her back, trying to comfort her while whispering to her.

"Shh, Shh, it'll all be ok… I won't abandon you. Trust me. And if Hiashi-sama tries to do anything about a wound you honorably received in battle, I'll shove his marriage bed so far up his ass that he'll never find it again. It's ok… just let it all out…"

Hinata cried for another couple of minutes before finally sitting back, only hiccupping every few minutes or so.

'_I wish… I wish there was something more I could do for you…'_

"Hinata… if there is anything you want me to do for you, just ask. I'll do anything so see you smile again…"

Hinata's eye widened at this statement…….no, this promise. She thought back to what she said just before she passed out. _'I have to ask him… Kami-sama, if you have wished good fortune on me, please let me have the courage to tell him…'_

"Naruto… I need to know…"

She paused. Her un-bandaged pale lavender eye looked deeply into his. Naruto could see the pain and the yearning in them.

"Naruto… I need to know… how do you feel about me? Will… Will you ever love me, or… are we forever fated to remain…just fiends…"

"Hinata…"

Everything that had happened in the past few days rushed through his mind. He felt the anger, the rage, he felt how much he wanted to protect Konoha, his team and… Hinata… and when he was passing out, he remembered… he remembered how angry he felt that she had 'died', and when he had killed her attackers, he remember feeling… it was something he couldn't describe. It was something like his desire to protect her, but… also… it was more. A longing to make her happy, a _need_ to make her smile, even if it cost him his own life… There was only one word he had ever heard that could describe something like this… Love.

"Hinata, I would go to the darkest pits of seven hells and back again to see you smile… All I ask is that you never leave me again…"

Hinata's eye widened. Despite her pain, her feelings of inadequacy, despite the fact that she only had one working eye and would be scarred for life, she felt pure, untainted joy well up inside of her. The tight yet gentle embrace Naruto pulled her into after that nearly brought tears to her eyes. She hugged him back, and although they were gently, they could feel the pressure of each other. Hinata was on cloud nine. It didn't matter that the tears were stinging her bandaged eye, it didn't matter that the doctor was watching them this whole time, and it certainly didn't matter that she caught a glimpse of her father standing in the doorway, one of his few genuine smiles playing on his lips before he slowly and quietly closed the door.

"Naruto… I've never been good with words… I can barely… make two sentences… without stuttering. But… if I could say it in any way that truly described how I felt about you, I would, but in the end… the truth of it is… I love you, Hyuuga Naruto. I wouldn't leave you for the world…"

Naruto felt… warm. Her heartbeat could be felt even through is thick jacket. It thumped in time with the beeping of the machine. Naruto, unable to find words for what he wanted to say, broke the embrace.

Hinata took this as a sign of rejection, and immediately she dropped her head, letting her posture sink into a dejected husk of what she was just a moment before. She didn't even register the fingers she felt under her chin, and didn't seem to notice Naruto lifting her head. What finally brought her out of this fall was when she felt something on her lips.

Hinata's mind went completely blank when she felt Naruto's lips on hers. The action she had been dreaming about for as long as she could remember had happened, and the only thing she could do was freeze up. Finally, when her mind had caught up, she let her arms wrap around her love, gentle yet assuring. New found confidence flowed through her and she leaned into him as best as she could from her semi prone position.

After a minute or two, they split and stared into each others eye(s). Their hands found each others and their fingers interlaced. Naruto scooted his chair up closer to the bed. He rested his head against the pillow Hinata was laying on as she scooted down to get more comfortable. They lay there, in complete silence, completely contented with just each other's presence. The small squeezes they gave each other's hand and the snuggling on the pillow was enough for each of them. Slowly, yet inexorably, Hinata drifted into a deep, peaceful slumber.

Naruto watched his newly proclaimed love. The happiness, despite the inescapable war waiting on the horizon, overflowed. It wasn't the plastic mask he had donned each day as a child, nor was it the contentedness he displayed at the Hyuuga house. This was a true feeling of unconditional love. Love without bounds, willing to do anything for her. Slowly, Naruto started to succumb to sleep, his mind replaying yet again what had happened at the battle site.

Suddenly, without warning, he sat up straight. Replaying the memory of the ANBU he killed with his Amatsu Tenshi no Senshu Hakke, Hyakunijuu Hatchiya, he saw the plants literally grow instantly. A blast of inspiration flooded him. He quietly stood and left to find Hinata's doctor. After half an hour of searching, he brought the rather confused medical professional to Hinata's room.

"Sir, I think I know a jutsu that can save her eye. I don't know exactly how it will affect her. I know that it will cause the cells in her eye to rapidly reproduce. I need to know… if I do this, can you limit and control the growth so that her eye heals properly?"

The doctor thought for a moment, playing any and all possible scenario in his mind. _'If what he says is true, then, yes, it's possible. However… if it gets out of control, there may be uncontrollable and irreversible side effects…'_

"Hyuuga-san, how exactly do you expect this jutsu to work?"

Naruto explained to the man about the juiced up Life Force he can create. The doctor thought for a moment before finally saying "I believe it's possible, however I want at least 4 other doctors here for the operation, and I want Hinata-sama and her father's consent before we do anything."

"If there is even a 25 percent chance of this working, you have my consent as long as Hinata agrees."

"Hiashi-sama!" both Naruto and the doctor said in unison.

"What… what's going on?"

Hinata sat up, and her hand half way to her head from rubbing her eye. Naruto, yet again, explained the situation.

"Hinata, it's possible that you could completely loose your eye if this fails. As of now, you will only have partial vision. Do you want to go through with this."

Hinata sat there, mentally debating. She seemed to be wavering in the middle. After a moment, she managed to finally give her answer.

"You…have my consent."

"Then it's settled." The doctor said, before running off to get the most skilled doctors in Konoha.

Half an hour later, they were in a prepared operating room. The five doctors and Naruto stood around Hinata's unconscious form. Naruto was out of his training outfit and into a doctor's uniform. All the medical professionals around him nodded, and Naruto pulled out some chakra from one of the nurses who volunteered for the honor, and mixed it with a fair amount of Nature Chakra. Naruto experimented with the mix, slowly balancing it into a mixture only twice as strong as normal Life Force instead of the insane 500 times as strong life force created in the woods. Slowly, he lowered his glowing white hand over Hinata's eye…

---------

MU HU HO HA HA HAH! Fear my cliff hanger of DOOM! lol, I'm really hyper right now, sorry. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thanks for the reviews! I'm starting to thing I've created a cult! I've even got bodily threats on me if I don't update soon! It makes me have the warm fuzzies inside! Kinda strange that a threat would do that to you, ne? Anyway, I don't have a lot to say right now, so… ill see you next time! Oh, and before I forget, no one has voted against a Lemon as of right now, so I will have one. I'll just put a warning ahead of it so you don't have to read it if you don't want to. Anyways, I gotta go to bed, school in the morning and all…. Laters!


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Naruto concentrated as best he could. Slowly gathering the modified Life Force, he slowly let it leak into Hinata's wounded eye. All five of the doctors watched in amazement as the cells started multiplying before their eyes. Something was off… all the cells were multiplying, weather or not they were the ones needed or not. Carefully, the doctors cut away and incinerated the extra cells not needed with their Chakra Scalpels as the eye slowly repaired itself, knitting together like a complete reversal of the wound.

Sweat started running down their foreheads, and the nurses carefully wiped it away, making sure none dripped into the wound or onto the unconscious girl. Naruto ignored the doctors as they calmly gave instructions to each other and to the nurses. Naruto just stood there and slowly leaked the Life Force into her eye, letting the doctors shape and mold the eye back to its former glory. Minutes turned into hours as the time wore on. Despite being naturally adept with chakra and having near perfect control, Naruto was getting tired. The doctors were much worse off, and had to eat several soldier pills just to keep going. Finally, one of the doctors spoke up.

"Naruto-san, it's done, you can stop now."

"H…Hai…"

Naruto sat down, profusely thanking the nurse who brought him a glass of cold water. He watched as all five of the doctors scanned Hinata's entire body, looking for any adverse side effects, and comparing her newly healed eye with her undamaged one. Slowly, Naruto's eyelids grew heavier and heavier. His eyes drooped, and soon he lost the fight against sleep.

With a start, Naruto jumped up, looking around franticly. He was standing next to Hinata's bed, back into the room he visited her in. Naruto smiled and calmed himself down. He sat back down and reached his hand out to lovingly caress her cheek, feeling how smooth her skin was. She smiled in her sleep and rolled over, trapping his hand between her head and the pillow. Her hands unconsciously reached up and grabbed his, holding it closer to her. Naruto felt a tugging at his chest, much like he felt when he saw her die, but this time it was… happy. A feeling of bliss, just a few steps beneath euphoria or nirvana, invaded his emotions, throwing all the others to the back of his mind. He reveled in it. He made himself comfortable on the chair, leaning his head back against the back of it. Slowly, sleep made its inexorable march, forcing him to move on to his dreams, all centered on his lavender eyed love…

Slowly, oh so slowly, things began to return to normalcy. Hinata's eye, with a few following check ups, had returned to normal. Due to the kunai piercing her pupil, it was now somewhat slitted, something like a mix between a snake's and a cat's. It was just a slightly deeper shade of the pale lavender that made up her usual eye, and was barely noticeable at all. With a fair amount of training, she managed to bring it's usefulness up from the initial 50 percent capacity it was initially at directly after the surgery to it's full 100 percent capacity. Her Byakugan, before the incident, was still not fully formed. She could only see the outlines of the internal chakra systems, and only the largest third of the tenketsu, only enough to use the Hakke rokujuu yonshou. However, because of her intense and constant training, she had, much like her cousin Neji had done at the age of 10, awakened her bloodline to its fullest potential. The only real difference was the ability to better see the chakra pathways, all the tenketsu, and doubling the maximum range she could see around her. The last part could be trained even farther, but it would take time.

As for Hinata's bold proclamation of her love to Naruto as she lay 'dying', and Naruto's reaction to her 'death', after Hinata had been released from the hospital, she'd confessed to him, and he to her. The could be seen on most evenings in some highly recommended restaurants by the Akimichi clan, cinema, and several other places that most people go for entertainments… or dates. The farthest they've ever gotten, though, was some rather intimate kissing and hugging, not having the courage to go farther than that. All in all, the two were in bliss.

As for the war between Rice and Fire countries, it was an obvious routing. Without the element of surprise and the full support of every single ninja in Konoha, the Sound village withdrew its support. The Rice country's armies were utterly defeated by the much larger Fire country's numerical and strategic might. In short terms, Rice and Sound got their asses handed to them because a few Genin got away from some of their most powerful ninja. The mission offers to Sound was drastically reduced, and their participation in the upcoming Chuunin exams was their only chance to regain the respect as good fighters, but only if one of their Genin won the tournament.

Speaking of the Chuunin exams, although it was Konoha's turn to host the event, they utterly refused to allow Sound Nin into their village. Therefore, the rest of the Hidden Villages held a meeting and decided that it was to be hosted in Kirigakure no Sato. The Mizukage was more than willing to host the event, and declared that any unsanctioned fighting between any shinobi of different villages would get their entire village banned from the event. All the Kage accepted the terms with varying degrees of enthusiasm. Because of the delay in organizing the event, the date that it would start was pushed back almost two months.

Our team was, at this moment, sitting under a cool tree, studying a few scrolls they'd picked up here and there. Chouji was studying a jutsu scroll given him directly by the Sannin Jiraiya, who was rather impressed at his skill with jutsu. Hinata was studying a medical scroll that was written by the Legendary Kunoichi of Konoha, the Sannin Tsunade herself. It was, however, only on loan from the Hokage. Naruto… he was actually studying a book of unknown origins. He didn't know where it had come from, how it had got there, or who had given it to him. Apparently, it was a book on Taijutsu. It outlined many different forms and kata from a style that not even Maito Gai had heard of. Tai Chi. What really intrigued the boy was that he saw a lot of potential in this style. He could, theoretically, use raw chakra blasts in nearly every single blow the style showed him. It was as if this style was made just for that purpose… but he just continued to study, deciding to learn all the theoretical sides behind the style, which were many, before he actually practiced it. He had already learned some of the most basic kata, and was doing well. He had even shown the book to Gai, who had in turn helped the boy correct his stance so that the moves flowed properly. In return, Gai got to learn a new style just for helping the boy out. It was a mutually beneficial relationship. Things were progressing well for this team, and they had all been given a month's worth of vacation along with the pay for an S-class mission. To top it all off, they had all received the Golden Kunai, a very prestigious award for valor in the midst of combat. They were, to date, the youngest ninja to ever receive this award, and that included its equivalents from the other villages as well.

(Flashback)

Sandaime Hokage stood in front of a pedestal, looking at the assembled ranks of Shinobi in front of them, and the crowd of civilians behind them. He cleared his voice before starting his speech.

"I have called this meeting today to dispel a few rumors. Many of you have heard about the recent 'incident' on the Fire-Rice border. Yes, it is true that Rice country and Otogakure attacked in tandem, intending to invade Fire country and, eventually, crush Konoha. The area they invaded was currently being patrolled by an undermanned Chuunin team. One of their team mates had been injured and extracted to Konoha General Hospital for treatment. In order to enhance our defenses, I ordered the Genin team that had escorted the Medic Nin to the rendezvous to become a replacement on the team for the out-of-action Chuunin. Fortunately for us, that was the best thing that could have happened under the circumstances. Team 7, the first of our experimentally trained Genin teams, lead by Tokubetsu Jounin Morino Ibiki, and displayed fine teamwork in the face of great adversity. The attacking force, while currently estimated at one ANBU team, around 10 Jounin, nearly a score of Chuunin, and three dozen Genin was the spearheading force in the invasion. In a surprise attack, the spearheading force knocked out and captured both Morino Ibiki and Akimichi Chouji. The two fought well, injuring and incapacitating at least 10 of the Sound Nin. After learning that their companions had been captured, Hyuuga Hinata and Hyuuga Naruto ambushed said group, rescued their friends, and nearly halved the remaining shinobi through well set traps and Genjutsu, as well as killing three ANBU. They also managed to alert other border patrols and their two Chuunin teammates. However, they did not come out without injury. Ibiki and Chouji were near death, Hinata had a kunai impaled in her eye, and Naruto had chakra burns throughout most of his system and was suffering from severe chakra depletion. Thankfully, all four are almost fully recovered. Chouji and Hinata are still in physical therapy, Chouji for his massive weight loss and muscle depletion, and Hinata for re-learning how to use her recently healed eye."

He paused for a moment before continuing.

"In light of these feats, I would like to bestow upon all members of Team 7 the Red Moon, signifying injuries received in combat."

His attendants walked forewords and handed each person a polished wooden box.

"Also, because of their valor and the role they played in defending our country, I would like to bestow upon them the Golden Kunai."

An exited murmur swept through the crowd as each member of the team received another wooden box.

"I realize that these three Genin are the youngest to ever receive such a large honor in the history of all Shinobi villages. Their actions have brought both their families and their village honor. Because of this, we should honor them in turn. Thank you."

The Sandaime stepped down from the pedestal, smiling warm heartedly as the crowd went wild, celebrating Konoha's newest heroes.

(End Flashback)

By now, most of the village saw the three in a new light. Hinata was no longer seen as the barely passable Hyuuga heir, and Chouji as the shy Akimichi heir, but as fine shinobi, and heroes even. As for Naruto, by now most everyone knew he was the Yondaime's son, had a unique Byakugan-esque bloodline, and was _supposed _to be the vessel for the Kyuubi no Kitsune. Before, he was seen in a mixed light. Some had still hated him, thinking he was Kyuubi's reincarnation, while others thought neutrally of him. Now, after receiving such praise for his actions during the invasion, he was considered one of Konoha's greatest heroes, as well as one of their greatest prodigies. Needless to say, his already sizeable fan club swelled to record numbers, becoming larger than both Neji and Sasuke's combined, but still couldn't match Uchiha Itachi's former fan club. It was now disbanded, but its legacy lives on… In any case, it was much more difficult to get from one point to the next because of the hordes of screaming girls and women.

Neji seethed in jealousy as he saw his cousin sitting under a tree, comfortable in the presence of her team mates. Not only did she have better teamwork than his own team, but her Byakugan had somehow developed equal and possibly even surpassing his. Also, she had received honors because, in his mind at least, she was from the Main House. He failed to see that her two team mates had received the same award. His hatred of the Main House had dimmed slightly because of Naruto's presence in the Hyuuga household, it had risen again two-fold. _'At least I may have a chance to get my revenge in the Chuunin Exams… Gai-sensei told us that we'd be participating this year, and I'm certain that her team will be there as well…'_

He smirked darkly to himself, fantasizing about the pain he would deal out to her… His mind snapped back into reality when he heard someone call his name.

"Oi, Neji-san, what's so funny?"

Inwardly he seethed, but his only visible emotion was that of apathy. "Nothing, Naruto-sama. I was sent to retrieve you and Hinata-sama. You are being summoned by Hyuuga-sama."

Naruto and Hinata stood up, nodded to Neji, and bid farewell to Chouji. After a nice soothing run across the rooftops, they arrived at the compound, and made their way to Hiashi's personal meditation garden, as instructed. They arrived to see the head of the Hyuuga clan, wonder upon all wonders (note heavy sarcasm), meditating.

"Ah, Hinata, Naruto, come over here please."

"Hai" they said in unison.

They sat down in front of the emotionless man. He opened his eyes and looked at them intently.

"It has come to my attention that, after Hinata had gotten out of the hospital, you two have been seen in various restaurants, cinemas, and other places. You were seen holding hands, intimately touching, and kissing by several Branch members. In public, no less."

The two cringed. It was, surprisingly, Hinata that spoke up first.

"Father, in all due respect… I will continue to see Naruto-kun."

Hiashi's eyebrows raised in surprise at her determination.

"I love him, and I won't let you separate us. He is the only person I will ever consent to marry, and you can either accept that fact or you can find another heir."

Hinata's voice, although quiet throughout her small speech, carried a large amount of emotion and confidence in them. Hiashi smiled. _'Naruto truly is bringing out the best in her… and this just makes is easier.'_

"Hinata, I realize your attachment to Naruto, but it can't be helped. The counsel has already had a marriage arranged for you since you were six years old. There is nothing you can do except to accept your fate…"

He raised a palm to stop both of their protests before they even started. The two only glared at him.

"In order to maintain the clan's honorable name, on the eve of your sixteenth birthday, you will be wedded, in order to bring a strong man and an equally strong bloodline into the Hyuuga clan."

"But father/Hiashi-sama…" Their protests were cut off again. Hiashi was trying his best to not break out laughing, seeing as they two had no idea what was in store for him. _'Looks like I have the last laugh for all those pranks, eh Naruto?' _He thought.

"In order to fully accept your marriage, you are to get to know your betrothed from now until you are wed. If you refuse, you will be stripped of your title and you will be branded with the Caged Bird seal and placed in the Branch family, and you will be forced to marry anyway."

Hinata seemed to deflate at this news, while Naruto was both shocked and angry. His knuckles were white, his muscles tensing and relaxing, trying his best not to attack the Hyuuga head.

"Hinata, your must accept your betrothed. It is what is best for you…"

He trailed off as Hinata's tear streaked gaze met his. She was meek and humble once again.

"Who have I been betrothed to, father?" her voice was emotionless, yet cold, carrying no feeling whatsoever. Hiashi's laughter that had been welling up died instantly, and his eyes moistened at the sight of his defeated daughter.

"Your betrothed is the son of a Kage and a very accomplished ninja. His name once was Uzumaki, but he was adopted into the Hyuuga clan. Hinata, your betrothed is Hyuuga Naruto."

They two were speechless. They could only gape, their gazes switching back and forth between Hiashi and their future spouse. Hiashi smiled and grabbed one of each of their hands.

"I know it's unexpected, but I approve of your relationship. A few ground rules. Both you and Naruto are to be virgins of every sense of the matter until your marriage night. I forbid you to go any farther than kissing. Also, you two will remain fully clothed whenever in the same room, with the exception of hot springs and communal baths. When sleeping in the same room, pajamas will be worn at all times. Other than that, you are free to tell anyone you choose about your engagement. I expect you to continue your good behavior during missions and to continue training. Now, if I hear of any of these rules broken, the betrothal will be broken and you two will never be married. Is that clear?"

Despite his stern tone, the two were grinning broadly and nodding. With that, he placed Hinata's hand in Naruto's. They stood and he embraced the two in a warm, fatherly hug.

The rest of the day was a haze for the two stunned teenagers. The only thing they could think of at the time was _'We're really getting married…'_

The next morning, Hinata woke early. As she looked at herself in the mirror, she remembered what had happened yesterday. Deciding that a relaxing morning bath was in order, due to the fact they didn't have training scheduled for today, Hinata grabbed a change of cloths, wrapped herself in a robe, and made her way to the bath house. Just as she was about to enter, she heard "Oi, Hinata-chan! Wait up!"

"N...Naruto-kun?"

"Hai. Thanks for waiting. Let's go in, shall we?"

"H…Hai"

Both Hinata and Naruto blushed before they entered their respective gender's changing rooms. After a quick scrubbing, they made their way to the central pool, the only one in the complex with mixed bathing. The couple found each other quickly, but the steam was quite thick and hard to see through. Blushing, they sat on opposite sides of a rock that jutted out from the very middle of the pool. Their hand's snaked around either side and they laced fingers, comforted by each other's touch.

They sat in silence for a few moments. Naruto, deciding to start up a conversation, said "So… I guess we're going to be married in a few years…"

"Hai."

"So… what do you want to do?"

"I… I was thinking we should… we should train. I want to look at in the clan library, would you mind… tagging along?"

"N…No problem, Hina-chan!"

Hinata blushed, unseen by anyone, before squeezing Naruto's hand while saying "Thank you, Naru-chan."

Naruto blushed as well, but the steam in the bath house was indeed very thick. It went unseen. Slowly, as they started to get light headed from the heat, they made their ways back to their changing rooms, and got dressed. Meeting just outside the entrance, Naruto enveloped her into a loving embrace.

Hinata smiled and hugged back. She didn't expect him to pull back and plant his lips on hers, but… indeed he did so. She was surprised at first, but gradually melted into his arms, returning the loving and passionate kiss with equal enthusiasm.

Their tongue battle was halted abruptly by someone clearing their throat. They looked around embarrassed, their cheeks tinted red.

"If you two are done cleaning each other's teeth, would you kindly let me by? I believe that this bath house may be used by any Hyuuga, not just you two." Said a cold, hate-filled voice.

"Neji-nii-san, gomen nasai."

"Sorry, Neji-san."

They parted and let the Hyuuga Prodigy through.

Naruto grinned before saying "Come on, Hina-chan, lets get to the library, ne?"

"H…Hai"

-

Yeah, yeah, I know, it's kinda short, but I'm not having a lot of inspiration. Now, should I go for the Chuunin exams next or should I go with a mission? Both will come, eventually, but I want your opinion! Please review! Laters!


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

The next morning, Team 7 met at their usual training grounds for their team meeting. Hinata and Naruto arrived hand in hand, as usual, and greeted Chouji. After a few pleasantries, they sat down underneath their favorite tree in the training ground. After a few moments, Ibiki arrived like all the other Jounin, in a cloud of smoke and a poof.

"'Mornin."

"Good morning, Ibiki-sensei." Hinata was the first to speak up.

"Ok, let's get down to business. As you know, the Chuunin exams have been moved to Kirigakure. It has been decided that Konoha will only send 3 teams. Many have been nominated, but the three that will be going have been chosen by the Hokage himself. We are one of them. Now, just take these forms…"

"Ibiki-sensei, who are the other teams?" Chouji said before he continued snacking on his chips.

"Ah, yes, the other teams will be Team Gai and Team 9 from your year."

"Hah, Sasuke-teme won't be going this year."

The other two on his team grinned. Sasuke wasn't exactly the most popular person amongst most of the Genin, except for his fan girls, and even some of them were growing farther and farther away from the Last Uchiha.

"No, he probably won't, but his team is first in line if any of the three chosen teams drop out of the selection. Anyway, like I was saying earlier, you need to fill out these forms and turn them in, as a team, to the Hokage's office by 8 o'clock tonight. We'll have about 5 days to train here in Konoha before we set out. Then we'll have about two additional weeks to train before the exams actually start. All in all, we'll be gone for about a month and a half, maybe more depending on how things go, so pack accordingly. Use sealing scrolls, if you have them and you can use them. Any questions?"

"Yeah, I got one."

"Go ahead then, Naruto."

"Is there any chance that we can go in disguise and with false names?"

"Why would you do that?"

"Because word has probably gotten out about our accomplishments, and most Genin would just give up without fighting any of us. So… I think that, if we truly want a challenge, we should go in disguise. Besides, if anyone from Sound is there, they'd be out for revenge, and I'd rather keep a low profile."

Ibiki thought about it for a moment. He weighed the pros and the cons, as well as the possible repercussions if they're discovered.

"I think… you should ask Hokage-sama about that tonight when you turn in your papers to him."

"Ok."

"As for now, I want 100 pushups, 250 sit ups, 500 jumping jacks, 10 laps around Konoha, and at least 3 hours of sparring on the lake in a free for all between you three. Understood?"

Remembering their training days, the three stood at attention. "SIR, YES SIR!"

Ibiki grinned uncharacteristically. "Get going then."

And they did.

After their training and an hour's worth of resting, which they used to fill out their forms and think of possible disguises, they made their way to the Hokage's office. After greeting the secretary, climbing the stairs to the top, and nodding to the guards in front of the office door, they knocked.

"Enter"

Naruto pushed open the door and strode foreword, bowing politely. The others followed suit before they all sat down.

"No need to be so formal, Naruto-kun."

"Sure thing, Hokage-jii-san"

The old man smiled.

"Now, I believe you're here about the Chuunin exams, ne?"

"Yes… we have our papers here"

"Ah, good, good."

"Um… Hokage-jii-san, I was thinking that maybe we should go in disguise."

"Oh?"

Naruto then explained to him his reasoning behind his idea. The Hokage just sat there, nodding and thinking. By the time Naruto had finished, Sarutobi was ready to speak.

"Naruto, I personally think it's a very good idea, but I do think that the other Villages will take it as a sign of weakness if our most honored team is not there for the exams. Should you wish to wear a disguise during any time you are not taking the exam, feel free to do so, but I want you three to be seen in action."

"Hai, Hokage-sama"

"Naruto… I told you not to be so formal" He said with a half-serious expression.

"Sure thing, old man."

Sarutobi sighed happily and in mock exasperation.

"Be sure you're ready. Oh, and one last thing before you go. Team 9 dropped out of the selection and Team 8 has taken their place."

"Heh. Looks like I get to kick Sasuke-teme's ass, if he can make it to the third exam."

Everyone in the room grinned. Naruto used his chakra to create a hologram of sorts which depicted a swarm of Naruto clones beating up a chibi Sasuke, who sat there crying anime tears after the clones had disappeared. They laughed at the sight.

Kirigakure lived up to its name. It was perpetually surrounded in mist, partly because of the special seals in the village walls and partially from the low clouds that constantly passed over the island, rolling in from the ocean. The few times it was clear was either in a heavy rain or a typhoon. All three Konoha teams were… uncomfortable to say the least. The mist was constantly condensing into little water droplets, which ran down their necks and into their shirts, soaking them through and though. They kept on having to use a minor Katon jutsu that collected heat to their skin, keeping them warm and dry until the mist condensed again. It was… annoying.

They approached the gates that looked much like the ones in Konoha, only with the symbols for Mist on them instead of fire. The Chuunin and Jounin that guarded the gate stood there to greet them.

"Halt. What is your business in Kirigakure?"

Ibiki stepped forewords and let out a small amount of killing intent, just enough to make him look even scarier.

"We're here to take the Chuunin Exams."

The less experienced Chuunin paled, while the Jounin just brushed it off as one would a fly.

"I need to see your papers and your passports."

The Genin and their senseis lined up and presented their official documents, which each had a seal on them that repelled moisture, and continued inside the gate after they were approved. Naruto was in the back of the line under a Henge that made him look completely different. He reached the Jounin and handed him his papers. The Jounin was smart enough to see the difference between the boy standing in front of him and the picture on the passport.

"Your picture does not match you."

Naruto grinned quite maliciously and dropped his Henge slowly, making it look as if his features just melded into his true form. He released a fair amount of killing intent directed solely at the Jounin holding his passport.

"If you know what's good for you, let me in. I'm sure you've heard on my exploits, ne?" Naruto's voice was dark and promised pain exponentially more than even the seventh layer of Hell could give.

The man read the name on the passport and the papers again. He paled instantly. His hands were shaking and it was taking almost all of his will power to stop himself from pissing his pants and running away, screaming like a little girl. He was still a young Jounin, but the chakra he felt in this boy was barely under that of the Mizukage.

"Y-y-y-yes s-s-sir. R-right a-away."

He carefully stamped the paper and handed them back to the boy, who smirked and caught up with his team mates.

"Oi, Renji, what was that all about?"

"That was the Genin that single handedly killed two Sound ANBU and set the traps that killed at least 4 Jounin, 9 Chuunin, and 13 Genin from the Sound Invasion."

His fellow guard paled before fainting. His Jounin friend wasn't too far from that point and was forced to sit down until he had collected his thoughts.

A lone figure sat atop a tall building overlooking what little could be seen of Kirigakure. The breeze played with his orange-red bangs, uncovering the red tattoo in the shape of the kanji for 'Love' that adorned the left side of his forehead. (That's HIS left side, not the left side of your perspective) The gourd strapped to his back along with his rather strange style of clothing made for a very intimidating figure. What truly stuck fear into the hearts of his enemies was the way that his black-ringed eyes stared at you. Their blue-green depths seemed to show you the future, and it always was pain, torture, and an eventually long awaited death…

'_Hyuuga Naruto… I'm coming for you.'_

He continued to stare at the waxing moon in the sky.

Naruto was grinning his huge foxy grin. His team was at his sides as they walked out of the Mist's ninja academy, happy with their progress on the first test. Sure the questions were hard, but other people knew the answers. It was almost too easy to cheat… In any case, they'd passed the test easily. Then, there was the second part…

(Flash back)

"Now, for this part, you will each be given a tile. When everyone has a tile, they will all turn a certain color. If you get blue, your team gains two points. Purple gets you one extra. Green is neutral. Red will loose you one. Orange will loose you two. And finally, if you get one of the three black tiles, your team looses all your points and you are disqualified from the rest of the exam. Understood? Good. Let's get going then."

After a few moments, all the remaining people in the room had a tile.

"Now, we'll reveal the colors."

The examiner whipped through a few hand seals that were too fast for even Sasuke's partially awoken Sharingan to copy. After a few seconds, the tiles each started to turn into their respective colors.

Naruto looked on in horror as his own tile started turning black. Thinking fast, used a hand seal-less Kawarimi to switch it with the tile of the person next to him. There wasn't even the usual poof of smoke or even a noise. They just switched places, faster than any of the Chuunin could have detected.

The tile he got was Green. He sighed in relief, looking around for his team mates. Hinata was grinning excitedly at her Blue tile, while Chouji was frowning at his Red tile. All in all, his team still had enough points to easily pass. Unfortunately, the Rock Nin sitting next to Naruto wasn't so fortunate.

(End Flash Back)

The three Genin followed the crowd of other Chuunin hopefuls to the location of their next exam. When they got there, the second Examiner hushed the exited ninja.

"Ok, this is your second exam. Welcome to the Badlands. This area is the lowest part of the island, and actually averages 100 meters below sea level. This thick swamplands will be difficult to navigate through, and then there are the snakes, gators, spiders, and other such dangerous critters. You'll need all your skills to survive. Now, before we start, I need each person to turn in a release form. There will be deaths here, and I don't want to be held responsible. It's an ass load of paperwork…" Here the man trailed off while the entire group sweat dropped, bringing the water of the swamps up at least an inch…

In the end, everyone managed to sign the forms and get… an object.

"Ok, now for the rules. As you see, each of you have received an additional headband. It either has the kanji for 'Predator' or "Prey' on it. The objective is simple. Each 'Prey' team will be given a specific message, a piece of information. Their objective is to get to the other side of the Badlands and tell this information to the instructor there."

Here he paused.

"As for the 'Predator' teams, their objectives are to start at the other side and capture and either interrogate a 'Prey' team, or bring their captives back here. Those who succeed in their objectives will proceed to the next exam. 'Prey' teams, you start here. 'Predator' teams, you follow me."

With that, he took off at a rapid pace, skirting around the edge of the Badlands. The pace was difficult for many of the Genin to keep up with, but most managed decently. About half of the teams were winded by the time they got there, and several of the weakest Genin (Sakura and Ino for example) were already dead tired and had to dig into their soldier pill stash.

"Ok, when the exploding note goes off, you're free to go. Good hunting." The man smirked and did the poof thing.

After a few tense moments, the note started burning. They watched in eager anticipation as it slowly was eaten away by the very slow burning flame. Time seemed to slow down, everything in slow motion. Finally, with just the smallest of explosions (think a gunshot) they Genin teams took off. Each person wore their new headband things in an obvious spot, making sure that they were visible.

In a mad scramble, for the less graceful of the bunch, they separated and went their own ways.

Naruto, while freigning indifference, was carefully observing all the 'Predator' teams before they left. _'Hmm… looks like Sasuke-teme's team is with us, but Neji-nii-san's team isn't. Personally, I'm relieved that Suna team is a 'Predator'. He seems… creepy. Like, more than Ibiki-sensei creepy. Let's see… there's a Sound team, the only one in this exam, two Mist teams, a Grass team, and… looks like the last remaining Stone team. Hmm… looks like they separated us in equal terms of power… an even amount of powerful 'Prey' and 'Predator' teams… This should be fun.'_

They made their way to the topmost branches that would hold their weight and made their way slowly. After an hour of traveling, they sat down for a small rest.

"Hinata, I need you to look as far as you can in each direction, and move in a slow circle. I need you to scan for any 'Prey' team you can see. Ok?"

"Hai."

"Chouji, I want you to take an inventory. Keep most of the kunai and shuriken with yourself and Hinata, but leave me most of the trap items. I'll be farther back, so it'll be easier for me to set traps."

"Gotcha"

"I'll keep a closer scan going so that, in case Hinata misses someone approaching us, I'll see them and we can react. Any questions?"

"Nope."

"None."

"Good."

And so they did, waiting an hour before moving on to a new location. During their third stop, they finally found a 'Prey' team, who appeared to be from Cloud.

"Finally" Naruto whispered, "A 'Prey' team."

They'd already encountered several 'Predator' teams, and none had been too eager to fight them to reduce the amount of teams moving on to the Third Exam, due mostly to their reputation, but some of it had to do with the nearly 100 shadow clones that both Naruto and Hinata had made.

Moving slowly through the treetops, Hinata and Chouji shadowed them while Naruto set up a fair amount of traps in a clearing that Hinata was leading them to with a rather effective and nearly undetectable Genjutsu. Finally, when things were set, Naruto contacted them through the small radios each one carried.

"Hinata, Chouji, attack them from behind and drive them towards me."

"Roger" they said in unison.

The three Cloud Nin were slowly making their way along a deer trail that had been 'enhanced' by Hinata's Genjutsu that made it seem like a very safe place to be. They didn't even notice anything. To their credit, they remained silent and moved with low Jounin level stealth. Hinata and Chouji made their way behind them.

Without warning, Hinata reached out of the ground and grabbed one of the three's legs.

"What the…"

He was pulled down up to his neck and a hand hit him in the neck, knocking him out very easily.

Before the two had a chance to react decently, the hands disappeared. Their eyes widened and they screamed in horror as both a tsunami of mud and a gigantic fireball flew at them. They turned and ran haphazardly into the clearing where Naruto had set the traps. In their panicked frenzy, they didn't even notice the well hidden loops or the trip wires. One was unfortunate enough to activate a trap that sent senbon needles into several pressure points, knocking him out instantly. The other was pulled up into the treetops by the rope, only for some very strong ninja wire to wrap around him, pinning his arms at his sides.

By the time Hinata and Chouji made it to the clearing, Naruto was halfway through the 'interrogation'. _'I'm glad that Ibiki-sensei taught us some of the more effective techniques for interrogation.'_

The poor Cloud Nin was being thrown up and down, much like a yo-yo, yelling in terror the whole time, while Naruto was jerking the rope up and down with a bored look on his face.

After a few more moments of this, Naruto pulled the man up and looked him in the eye.

"So, you ready to spill, or do I need to continue?" as he said this, he pulled our a very wicked curved dagger. One side was serrated, almost like a saw, while the other smooth, but obviously extremely sharp.

"AHHHHHHh, no more, please!"

Naruto stood there as the man slowly calmed down into… well, now they could understand him, and he was no longer incoherently babbling.

"So, what was this message?"

"The message… is… " Here the man whispered something that only Naruto could hear. He sweat dropped.

"Don't mess with me. There's no way that could be it."

"I'm telling you the truth! Please believe me!"

Naruto looked over at Hinata, who nodded.

"Heh, you got lucky. I'm not taking a chance, though. You and your team are coming with us."

With that, and the evil grin Naruto flashed him, he blacked out.

Within a few hours, with the help of Kage Bunshin, Team 7 arrived at the group of Examiners. With a nod to each other, Naruto walked foreword to speak with the examiner.

"What was the message."

"The message was… The Mizukage is a… pervert… and regularly reads Icha Icha Paradise and peeps at women in the hot springs."

Team 7 instantly blushed deeply red, including Naruto.

"Well… your information is correct."

They looked at him disbelievingly.

"Yup. We made it so that no one could guess it. Besides that, it's true… "

They all sweat dropped.

Several hours later and most of the teams had returned. The ones left were disqualified and teams of Chuunin were sent to look for them. Not all of them were found, and fewer were found alive.

After a while, they arrived at a plateau that looked like it had been a mountain that had been cut smoothly by a gigantic sword. A small arena was in the centre of the area, and they were lead into it.

It turned out that all the Kage used the exact same speech… and all the examiners interrupted in exactly the same way, except without the cough the Hayate usually gave.

At the end of the decently long explanation, several people quit, leaving only 16 Genin remaining.

"Now, we'll be holding a preliminary tournament. If you'll look at the screen over there, we'll see who our first fighters are."

They all stared intently at the names rapidly cycling, so fast that only a few could follow its motion. Finally, it started slowing down before coming to a halt.

"First match….."

MU HU HO HA HA HA HA HA HAH HACK COUGH COUGH HACK. Ahh, dammit, I hate bronchitis. Meh, oh well, got some more done. FEAR MY CLIFF HANGER! Although it's not as good as the last one, it still leaves you in suspense… Meh, oh well. You'll just have to wait for the next fight. As for a few questions in my reviews, Naruto will receive a couple of scrolls that once belonged to his father, although in my story, Yondaime didn't teach Hirashin to Jiraiya, and the scroll was destroyed in the Kyuubi attack, along with many of his other scrolls. So I'm going to have…. Umm…. I'm not gonna say…. Don't wanna ruin the surprise… but to tell the truth, its kinda cliché… maybe ill do it tho…. Meh, oh well. Also, Neji was warming up to both Hinata and Naruto, but because they were honored, he believes it's only because they're main house, so he's….. jealous. That, and they're going to be married, and he wont be able to marry the one he loves because he'll prolly be in an arranged marriage inside the Hyuuga clan like most other branch members… oops, told you a bit too much, didn't I? oh well, Review! Laters!


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The names rapidly flashed across the screen, illegible to all but the quickest eyes. Two names unfamiliar to any of the Konoha Genin were shown.

"If you will, please leave the combat area. The Jounin by those doors over there will lead you to your box seats. The two combatants, however, will remain."

Nodding their consent, the Chuunin hopefuls cleared out and went to their respective boxes. They were separated by village. All the Genin were put in a box with each of their respective villages Genin.

The Konoha Genin walked into the open door to see…. Absolute luxury. Huge high backed leather recliners were lined up in front of the tinted window. A very impressive array of refreshments and beverages were available in the cupboards to the left of the room. The maroon leather of the chairs blended well with the dark blue carpet and violet colored walls. This wasn't the gaudy violet you see on flashy t-shirts, nor was it the bright violet you sometimes see on cars. This was a deep majestic violet that any king worth his mettle would love to have on his thick velvet cloak, in the typical fairy tale king style.

Each person took their seats and procured their preferred snack as they sat. The typical goings on between the Konoha Genin was… going on. In other words, Naruto and Hinata were sniggling, Chouji was slowly enjoying his snack (a tip from Ibiki-sensei) Sakura and Ino were fawning over their 'precious Uchiha', who was as cold as ever, reining indifference. Lee was 'stealthily observing' his rival, Neji, who was glaring at Hinata. Everyone else was watching the match, completely oblivious to their actions.

Naruto, however, was deep in thought.

(Flash back)

Naruto stood in a forest. He was still rather weak from chakra exhaustion, and the little he had wouldn't last him longer than a few days. He would have to gather it as quickly as possible before going to the Chuunin exams.

'_Damn it. How can I possibly do this? At the rate I usually go, it will take me nearly a year to get full again, and if I rush it, I could kill entire sections of the forest, or even disrupt the balance of the Earth… wait… I GOT IT!'_

Naruto dropped his crutch and gathered a fair amount of the latent chakra around him, just enough to make a Kage Bunshin.

POOF

"You know what to do…"

The clone nodded and jumped off into the tree tops. Naruto did the same, but in the opposite direction. As they leapt from tree top to tree top, they gathered as much chakra as they dared. Finally, just as soon as they made enough to make one clone, they did so and the two separated. Soon, each clone made a clone, and each of those clones made a clone. It continued this way. If you happened to be a bird flying over this section of the forest, you would see a multitude of white dots flying through the tree tops, randomly splitting into two white dots every once in a while.

After nearly an hour, over 50 square miles were occupied by Naruto clones. Finally, they each spread out in equal distances, and started gathering as much chakra as they could without the usual bad side effects.

Minutes passed, and slowly each clone gathered as much as it dared. Finally, the original Naruto stood up. With a smile, he sent the mental signal to each clone to activate the next step.

A massive POOF resounded throughout the forest in stereo as each clone dispelled itself. Instead of dissipating, the smoke that is generated flew back towards the epicenter of the area covered by the clones, which happened to be where Naruto was standing. The mist wrapped itself around the boy, slowly seeping into his body. A blue aura surrounded Naruto, much like it did when he fought the ANBU in his last mission. This time, however, instead of rolling off of him, it was absorbed into him. The seal on his stomach glowed an ominous red that contrasted greatly with the blue of the chakra surrounding him. Slowly, the aura diminished and receded. Finally, after nearly 15 minutes of being levitated by his own chakra, Naruto finally set foot onto the ground. With a contented smile, he let himself fall into unconsciousness, dreaming of a certain pale eyes fiancée of his… (For this scene, imagine the part in Prince of Persia, Sands of Time, where the Prince drank from that fountain and was levitated and was all glowy… that's what this looks like.)

(End Flash Back)

He smiled as Hinata pressed herself deeper into his embrace. He responded by lightly squeezing her hand and nuzzling the side of her neck. Slowly, his eyelids became heavier and heavier. The warmth, the comfort, and the handy dandy built in vibrating massager in the recliner helped him slowly drift off. Just as he was about to pass into dreamland, he was poked on the shoulder.

"Anata…Anata… NARUTO, WAKE UP!"

Naruto's eyes flashed open only to see Hinata's amused and annoyed expression.

"What is it, Hina-chan?"

"You're up next."

"..O…Ok…"

Over the speakers in the box he heard the Jounin referee say "Will Hyuuga Naruto please enter the combat area."

Naruto grinned

"Time for my 'dynamic entry'"

Hinata giggled and pulled him into a very passionate kiss that left him somewhat dazed for a few seconds after she finally pulled away.

"Go get 'em, Naru-chan"

Naruto smirked, as was taught to him by the Hyuuga, before disappearing in a flash of blue.

The crowd in the private boxes, as well as the few higher ups who were watching from the front of the room instead of a box of their own, watched in anticipation. The general thought going through their heads was something along the line of _'Finally, we'll get to see the 'Shadow Wraith' of Konoha in action first hand, and live to tell the tale…'_

Suddenly, the floor of the room distorted. It became a liquid, while still retaining its texture and color. To imagine what it looks like, think about how, when you were a kid, you used to hack a loogie and drip it out your mouth and see how far down it goes before sucking it back up again without dripping any. Inverse that 'drop' shape, and imagine it rising from the ground. That's what the entire audience saw. It started swelling before popping with a small… pop. The 'liquid' dissipated to reveal the floor where it started completely undamaged.

Where the weird loogie-like bubble was before now stood… Naruto. His pale crème colored Hyuuga training jacket was immaculate, as was his black pants. The only difference between this outfit and the outfit he wore on his graduation day was that instead of white bandages like Neji, his were black, and instead of wearing his forehead protector around his left leg, he wore a wrist band that had a metal plate on it with the Leaf symbol engraved on it. (he only uses his 'Wraith' costume when on serious missions or when he gets into a serious fight)

All in all, he looked like a blonde Hyuuga with slightly discolored eyes and spiky hair.

His opponent was a Mist nin, if his forehead protector was any indication. He wore typical black Shinobi pants and sandals, and a dark green t-shirt. Over this was an off white trench coat that would, no doubt, blend in perfectly in a fog. His mist forehead protector was sewn onto the breast of his trench coat, like a name tag on a soldier's uniform. His hair was an interesting color. It was a deep, dark, almost pine colored green. He wore it in a style that was bizarrely similar to that of the Uchiha style. His eyes were a deep green as well, just a shade or two lighter than his hair. He had two deep green marks under his eyes that vaguely resembled geometric-styled boomerangs. They followed the curve of his lower eyelid, only about a half of an inch below it. The expression on the boy's face was a mixture of curiosity and a little anxiety, but was covered by a mask of anticipation.

"So, you're the infamous "Shadow Wraith" huh. You don't look so tough"

"Fighters ready? Begin!"

Naruto just slipped into a typical Jyuuken stance. Much like the Byakugan, when Naruto needed to concentrate enough to see the tenketsu, the veins around his eyes bulged out, giving the use a very intimidating stare.

"Heh, though so. Time to show you what a real Shinobi can do"

With a few hand seals, the boy slowly gathered a mist around himself. The mist drifted off of him in a strange parody of Naruto's Shadow Mist technique he used on his mission. The mist seeping off the boy slowly started forming… speakers.

It took almost all of Naruto's will power not to sweat drop at the sight.

"I bet you're wondering what this is about, ne? Well, I think I'll save you a monologue like the ones you Hyuuga are so famous for and just show you."

With a snap of his fingers, the speakers started playing. The pulsing thump of the hardcore trance that was being played resonated in each and every person's chest, giving them a feeling almost like they were being physically struck.

The Mist Genin grinned most evilly before slowly closing his eyes. Slowly, he let the music take over. His moves suddenly seemed to fuse into the sound of the song. It was like his body became the physical representation of the music.

Naruto frowned before launching a few shuriken at the dancing Genin. The guy just sidestepped without missing a beat. Finally, the music reached a slow point. The high pitched, yet strangely calming chord being played was the only sound. Slowly, the boy's eyes opened. Killer intent suddenly spiked out of the boy. Despite being a master of killer intent himself, Naruto was rooted to the spot. The music suddenly launched directly into a full blown hardcore climax of the song. As it did so, the Genin launched himself at Naruto. The first few hits painfully connected, but the pain was enough to snap Naruto out of his stupor.

As the music played on, the two seemed to flow with it. The mist nin attacked in tandem with the changes in the music, while Naruto blocked them, giving the illusion that they were dancing. In truth they were, only it was a dance of death. Their flowing, graceful, water-like movements slowly blurred faster and faster. It finally got to the point where only the most experienced could keep up with their speed. Finally, with a loud final thump of the music, the two flew apart. Both crashed into the opposite walls of the arena.

A plume of dust and debris covered the impact points. Slowly, as it drifted away or settled onto the floor, the figures of two people were revealed in their respective areas. Naruto was standing in front of a rather large crater in the wall, but looked mostly unharmed. The other Genin wasn't so lucky. He was down on one knee, breathing heavily.

"You're good, you know?"

"Thank you. Your technique is rather unique as well. Perhaps if you put a Genjutsu that used the music to disorientate your opponent, you would do better."

"Wow… I never thought of that…"

Naruto smiled.

"Now, I think it's time to end this."

"Funny, I was thinking the same thing…"

Naruto smoothly dropped into a very advanced Jyuuken stance, while his opponent cued another song, this time heavy metal, screaming singer included

With a burst of speed in time with the heavy strumming of the guitar, the Mist Genin shot forewords. He made a few seals before calling out "Mizu Bunshin no jutsu!" Several of his copies appeared next to him. They continued running at Naruto, who just held his stance. Suddenly, time seemed to stop. Even the music went quiet.

"You are within range of my divination."

Everyone's eyes went wide, as even the Mist Shinobi knew about the Hyuuga Divination Field.

With a sudden burst of chakra, Naruto jumped forewords, calling out each series of strikes as he landed them.

"Two strikes, four strikes, eight strikes, sixteen strikes, thirty two strikes, sixty four strikes!"

"Hakke, Rokujuu yonshou" Naruto said in a calm voice. "You no longer have the ability to mold chakra. You will also find it difficult to move. Be lucky, I only used processed chakra. You should regain use of your arms and legs in a few hours."

"Winner, Hyuuga Naruto."

Applause came from the stands where the Mizukage and his attendants watched. Smiling, Naruto reached down and grabbed the Mist Genin's hand, pulling him to his feet.

"Hey, that was a good match."

"Yeah… I lost though…"

"Don't worry about it too much. In case you didn't know, I'm Hyuuga Naruto."

"Daisuke. Mizu Daisuke."

"Mizu, huh. I'm guessing you were an orphan, weren't you."

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"Isn't it standard procedure in Kirigakure to give their orphans the surname Mizu when they don't have any official record for them?"

"Y…Yeah…"

"You know, I was an orphan until I was six."

"What? Really?"

"Yeah. Then I developed these eyes, and I was adopted into the Hyuuga. My surname before that was Uzumaki, but I'm sure that was one given to me in the aftermath of the Kyuubi attack. You're familiar with that… event, aren't you?"

"Y…Yeah."

For a minute, the silence was oppressive as the Medic nin that made their way to the Genin arrived, checking over Daisuke for any injury.

Naruto suddenly reached into a pocket and pulled out a scroll. He opened it and used the pen that was wrapped in it to write something down quickly. By the time the medic nin were done loading their patient onto the stretcher, Naruto had torn off the note he wrote. Rolling it up quickly, he walked up beside the injured Mist Genin.

"Hey, if you ever need help, send word to the Hyuuga compound in Konoha, ok? Be sure to ask for either Hyuuga Naruto or Hyuuga Hinata. Oh and here's a small parting gift."

Smiling, Naruto tucked the piece of paper into the boy's hand.

"A… Arigato."

The boy slowly unwrapped the paper, and read it over several times. "Genjutsu..." he muttered. _'Hyuuga Naruto... I'll remember you...'_

Naruto smiled and walked away. He made his way up to the box, where he was greeted enthusiastically by Hinata and Chouji.

"Naruto-kun!"

Hinata glomped him before he had a chance to take even one step into the room.

"Good job, Naruto."

Thanks, Chouji."

Making their way back to their chairs and resumed their preferred activities. After a minute, Hinata finally asked "Naruto, why did you give that paper to that guy?"

"Because, Hinata. He reminded me of how I used to be before I was adopted. He… His eyes… they were the eyes of someone who is always alone… eyes full of hurt."

"I… I see…"

"I'm glad, Hina-chan."

The next match was being chosen, as shown by the flashing names on the screen. Finally, the next two names were shown on the screen.

"Match 3, Rock Lee versus Akimichi Chouji."

"YOSH! It's my turn!"

Chouji sighed. "Of all people, why did I have to get the 'fashion challenged' weirdo?"

They made their way down to the middle of the arena.

"Begin"

Lee shot out like a flash, pulling up into one of his typical moves.

"Konoha Senpuu!"

Chouji stepped back and avoided the kick to his head, but failed to see the next one to his ankles. Falling hard, he dodged the next few blows by rolling around on the ground and pushing himself up into a back flip, landing on his feet.

"You are quite acrobatic."

"You're an eyesore, but I'll give you the fact that you're fast."

"Thank you. My flames of youth burn brightly! I only hope that your defeat will not diminish your flames, only that they may burn brighter to match the beauty of mine!"

Chouji, instead of talking, took the opportunity to flash through some hand seals. Not bothering to announce his jutsu, he watched in amusement as a huge gust of wind blasted the spandex-clad weirdo into the wall of the arena.

"Less talk, more pain, Fuzzy-Brows."

(As Naruto is now somewhat formal, Chouji developed a tendency to make nick names for everyone he meets.)

Lee got up and charged again. They two traded blows and blocks, seeming on even ground. Smirking suddenly, Lee's 'punch' turned into a hand grabbing… something. Chouji didn't have the time to react as he felt the ninja wire wrapped around his feet tighten. He felt himself leave the ground as Lee started to spin, swinging Chouji along for the ride. Finally, Lee let the poor boy go, yelling "Konoha Taifuun!"

BOOM!

From the point of impact against the side of the wall, cracks spread out like spider webs, reaching all they way to the lip of the arena wall. With a rumble and a crack, the entire wall collapsed on the place where the poor boy lay.

By the time the dust and dirt cleared and one could see clearly, a pile of rubble lay where Chouji had fallen. Rocks the size of cars lay piled upon each other, along with a fine mixing of sand and gravel. In short, it was impossible to have survived.

"No… Chouji!"

"Chouji…"

Naruto and Hinata watched in horror. They waited, hoping, praying that some sort of movement could be seen, but… there was nothing. Even Lee himself seemed shocked that he had done so much damage, even killing a fellow Konoha Shinobi.

"No…nononononoNO…. NO!"

Naruto's yell reverberated through the arena. His cry of anguish was so full of heartbreak that even the most battle hardened Jounin were moved. Tears unashamedly streamed down his face as he and Hinata openly wept for their fallen team mate.

"Such a sad turn of affairs… Winner…!"

Before the referee could finish his statement, a rumbling shook the arena. Rocks shifted and groaned as they were forcibly pushed aside. With a sudden spike of chakra, the pile of rubble exploded outwards, sending Rock Lee and the referee into the opposite walls. From out of the wreckage crawled a somewhat bruised and beaten Chouji. His shirt was ripped off and his pants were in tatters, although they held together enough to allow him some decent modesty. Instead of the butterball he was a few years ago, there stood a very well sculpted figure. He still had a layer of fat, but it wasn't as prominent as it was before, and you could easily see the well toned muscled rippling beneath the surface of his skin. He reached up with a bandaged hand and wiped the small stream of blood that came out of his mouth. However, what everyone in the arena was staring at wasn't his figure, or his blood, or the fact that he had turned a small hill of rubble into a 30 foot crater. It was the seal on his chest.

The circle that covered his entire torso contained an intricate geometric pattern that held a myriad of Kanji and other unknown symbols. From the outside of the circle, a strange pattern of tribal tattoos ran down the length of his arms, legs, neck, and even on his face. The entire thing glowed a dark and ominous red, bathing the boy in a barely visible red light.

"Didn't think I'd have to reveal this so soon…"

"I see…"

"I don't have all day, Lee. Let's finish this."

"…Gai-sensei, forgive me."

Lee reached down and patted each leg. He suddenly jumped and twisted in mid air, turning into a back flip. Kicking each leg, he sent each weight flying at incredible speeds directly at Chouji.

Chouji's hands extended themselves towards the ground, his palms down. With a sudden jerk, he brought them up just as the weights reached him. Two spikes of pure stone rose out of the ground to intercept the projectiles. When the dust cleared, the two spikes were devastated, but it was obvious that Chouji was unharmed, as the weights hadn't been able to continue their journey.

"NANI!"

"With this seal, I can control earth, to a certain degree. My elemental affinity is earth, and this just allows my chakra to control it at will. It drains my chakra rather quickly, but thanks to my training, I recover faster than it drains."

"I see. Then, it seems that I'll have to use…'It'"

"NO, LEE! IT'S FORBIDDEN!"

"I'm sorry, Gai-sensei. I will not loose this fight."

Lee darted out of sight only to appear inside Chouji's guard. His kicked upwards at his chin and made contact, only to be thrown back 20 feet howling in pain.

A large bar of earth stood in front of Chouji, having obviously slammed into the attacking Taijutsu specialist before he could complete his kick. Lee slowly stood up.

"Time to go wild…"

Again he disappeared, only to reappear only to throw another blow at Chouji. Walls, spikes, and even flying balls of earth foiled most attacks, and most of the others that got through were blocked by Chouji's arms and legs. However, the few that managed to land solid blows still hurt him, slowing him down. The constant use of his power also was draining his chakra.

Again, Lee jumped to the attack again. This time, Chouji swept his hand up and out, sending a wave of earth at the oncoming boy.

"AAHHHH"

Lee was, yet again, thrown against the wall. He couldn't escape in time, and found that stone shackles now pinned his arms and legs to the wall. Spikes rose up out of the ground and closed the distance

They stopped, millimeters from Lee's stuck body.

"Referee, he is unable to move and if I so please, I could skewer him. This match is over."

"Not yet, it isn't."

With a sudden puff of smoke, Lee disappeared and reappeared behind Chouji. The massive kick knocked the boy forewords, only to get kicked in the chin and get shot into the air. Bandages wrapped themselves around Chouji's body, preventing him from moving. Suddenly, he found himself spinning and heading straight towards the ground.

BAM!

The impact threw yet another cloud of dust into the air. Again, the entire audience waited in anticipation for the dust to clear. When it finally did, they found Chouji floating on his back in a puddle of mud, obviously unconscious. Lee was barely standing a few feet away, breathing heavily.

"W…Winner, Rock Lee…"

Silence. Everyone was too stunned to believe the outcome. The powers and skills shown in this match made the other two matches look like academy students in a street brawl. As Lee collapsed onto his back, Neji jumped down to stand next to him.

"H…How did you do that Kawarimi? I thought you couldn't use jutsu."

"Kawarimi tags. Gai-sensei helped me make them. They work just like the jutsu, only I don't need hand seals and I can only go where the tag was before. The little chakra I have can be used to activate them, but I still can't use jutsu…"

With that, he fell unconscious, a smile on his face as he saw Gai-sensei standing over Neji. The look of pride on his face was more than obvious.

"Let's go, Neji."

The Medic Nin took the two shinobi to the infirmary so they can rest and be healed. Gai and Neji started walking back to the box, but stopped when they heard the referee speak

"Hyuuga Neji versus Hyuuga Hinata"

* * *

DUN DUN DUN! Sorry I'm so late. I've been busy between studying for ACT and SAT tests, homework, my new job, and playing EVE Online. Yeah, I know, in other words, I've just been lazy. Well, no more. I'm gonna try to update a lot more often. Again, sorry for being so late. Anyways, I don't gotta lot to say, so… Laters! 


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"Hyuuga Neji vs. Hyuuga Hinata"

Neji's eyes lit up, and a rather sadistic smirk played across his lips. Seemingly calm and serene, he walked to the middle of the arena. On the inside, he was boiling over with emotion. Hate, anger, rage, bloodlust, wrath, jealousy, and confidence were the only things he felt. No fear, regret, sadness, doubt, nervousness, nothing of the sort. _'Today is the day I get revenge on the main house…'_

Hinata, in the arms of her beloved, didn't quite shake with fear, but it was obvious that she was nervous. Her hand made its way to her lips, her old sign of nervousness, and her eyes cast doubt like a shadow. _'Of all people, why did it have to be Neji-nii-san?'_

"Hinata" Naruto's voice broke her though process. "We both know that you can do it. Just remember how we trained."

Hinata looked up into his pale blue eyes. A deep feeling of nostalgia overcame her as she remembered…

(Flashback… yeah, I have a lot of these, but it's better than just explaining it through conversation)

Hinata and Naruto were facing each other. Naruto was in the basic Jyuuken stance, while Hinata stood a ways away in the basic academy Taijutsu stance. Without warning, Hinata darted forward, punching and kicking several times, only to have them blocked. Jumping away, she flashed through several hand seals. As a team rule, they never shouted out their jutsu, giving them an element of surprise. As such, it's harder for the enemy to copy or avoid the attacks.

A ball of water condensed in her hand. She threw it at Naruto's still form. While he was dodging, she flashed through another set and cast her next jutsu. The earth at Naruto's feet was turned to swamp, trapping him in quicksand. Hinata's third jutsu, Housenka no jutsu, rained down a flurry of small fire balls. Thinking quickly, Naruto started spinning.

"Kaiten!"

The quicksand and fire balls were blown away by the spinning chakra ball, unable to pierce it. Hinata again took the opportunity to do another set of seals, and she disappeared under the ground. Naruto stopped his spinning to see an empty field. Settling into an advanced defensive stance, he waited. Suddenly, a hand grabbed each one of his ankles. Before he could be pulled under, he did another Kaiten, this time jumping as well. Using chakra to stabilize himself in mid air, he was able to land without injury.

Hinata jumped up and threw several kunai, only to see Naruto just stand there as they all passed him by without hitting him, or even coming close.

"You missed."

"Look again."

Naruto looked at the kunai right in front of him just in time to catch the exploding note finish burning up.

BOOM

The explosion launched him into the air. Several cuts suddenly made their appearance on his body, from yet another jutsu Hinata did. She jumped into the air above him, flashing through yet another set of hand seals. Naruto realized what she was going to do and frantically tried to adjust his trajectory. Hinata finished her seals and raised her hand to her lips.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu!"

The huge ball of flames completely covered Naruto and drove him into the ground. Before he had a chance to recover, Hinata landed and called out her next jutsu.

"Suiton: Suiryuudan no jutsu!"

A moderately sized dragon of water rose from a fissure in the ground, being formed from the groundwater, and few at Naruto's prone form. Before he could react, the dragon hit him full force, driving him deeper into the crater already formed from his first landing.

Hinata stood panting, her hands dropped to her sides. Naruto was soaked, bruised, lacerated, and burned. Several craters littered the training grounds, some obviously from Kaiten, and others from something else.

Slowly, the bruised and battered boy stood up.

"Good job, Hinata."

"A…arigatou."

"Now, even though Jyuuken is strong, it's only Taijutsu. There's only so far one can go with only Jyuuken. That's why Ibiki-sensei insisted we learn other styles and a lot of Ninjutsu."

Naruto paused as his stomach rumbled

"Oh boy… Hey, Hinata, would you like to go get something to eat with me?"

"Sure, Naruto-kun."

(End Flashback)

Naruto's huge foxy grin caused a small smile to play across her lips.

"Hinata, you can beat him. I know you can. Go out there and kick his ass back into shape, ne?"

"Hai, Naru-kun"

"Be safe, Hina-chan."

Hinata jumped down into the arena and faced her opponent. They locked eyes. Hinata's look of sadness and pity seemed to completely oppose Neji's look of hate and anger.

"Give up, Hinata-sama. We both know you can't win. I was always better than you. This match was decided before you even stepped into the ring."

"Yes, Neji-nii-san, the outcome of the match is predetermined. However, it's not Fate that decided who wins or who looses. What affects the outcome of this match will be how much effort has been put into it. You wasted your time perfecting you Jyuuken. I… well… you'll see. Referee, start the match."

"Begin."

Neji settled into a Jyuuken stance while Hinata just flashed through some hand seals. She slammed her hands into the ground and… nothing happened. Neji smirked at her, but his expression soon turned to shock as he saw… glowing.

A ring seal started glowing. The seven pointed star filled the inside of the 3.5 meter diameter ring. Neji stood inside the seven sided polygon formed by the unbroken line that made up the star as they crossed each other on the inside of the shape. Between each 'arm' of the star, a different symbol appeared. They looked like a strange cross between Kanji and Runes, typical of most seals. Outside the ring, an intricate and almost tribal style geometric shape spread out from each point where the star's tips touched the circle. They spread out and touched yet another circle, this one 18 meters in diameter. A strange almost silver colored glow came from the seals.

"Wh…What did you do?"

"Neji-nii-san, did you know that Ninjutsu didn't start with hand seals? A long time ago, every jutsu had to be written down in a seal form, and blessed by a monk to give it chakra. These paper tags were used by priests, monks, and sometimes warriors to fight with. Then, one man found out that seals could help change how chakra flowed in a person's body. That's how seal tattoos were born. They were permanent tattoos that gave a person one jutsu per tattoo. That was the first step of Ninjutsu. Unfortunately, you could only have enough jutsu as you had skin that was easily accessed.

Then, yet another breakthrough was discovered. One man found out that by putting your hands in a specific pattern changed how your chakra flowed. He spent his entire life researching these seals, and yet he only discovered five. His pupils who carried on his works found the other seven that we know of, and they named them after animals of the zodiac. This is how hand seals were born. Now, even then, not a lot of jutsu were in existence. Soon, seal masters took interest in these hand seals. They found out that, in certain pattern, they could change the way your chakra flowed enough to give the effect of one of the permanent jutsu tattoos, but only for that jutsu. After the string was broken, you chakra flow returned to normal. After lifetimes of experimentation, a large part of the jutsu we know today were created. Now, because hand seals were created to imitate ink seals, it's also possible to use hand seals to create ink seals. That's what I did just now. It's merely a reversal of the process, reverse engineering, if you will.

Now, I bet you're wondering what this seal does? Unfortunately, it required almost all my chakra to just make the seal and empower the first stage."

"What does the first stage do?"

"It merely does what Naruto-kun does naturally."

"You mean…"

"Yes, it draws and converts Nature Chakra into Human Chakra."

The silver light dimmed down into nothingness. Just as Neji was about to smirk and berate her for failing, the entire seal complex started glowing blue.

"What?"

"Ah, the second stage is active. I merely had to stall you long enough for the first stage to gather enough chakra. Now that I have the second stage ready, I can do… this."

Suddenly, the sky turned a deep, dark violet. The entire world seemed to freeze. Colors faded and dulled. The only shades or hues left were black, white, grey, and violet. An eerie sound filled the air, a mix between a growl, a whistle, and the groan of pain.

"What! Where are we! What did you do?"

Hinata was the one smirking now.

"This… is my world. The entire seal was there to do one thing and one thing only. It created a pocket dimension. In other words, it folded the space-time plain to the point where it folded over on itself, creating a small 'bubble' that exists outside its own time. The laws are similar, but due to the nature of the seal I used to create this pocket dimension, I am, for all intents and purposes, Kami."

"What!"

Hinata merely waved her hand and a very ornate, though violet colored, katana appeared in her hands.

"In this world, I control space, time, matter, energy, life, and even death. Everything is under my control. For instance…"

She again waived her hand and a person appeared. Neji's eyes widened as he recognized who it was.

"Father!"

Hyuuga Hizashi merely stood there. His emotionless eyes stared unseeing into the purple horizon. Neji could only stare as Hinata again waived her hand and Hizashi disappeared.

"Neji-nii-san, the real reason I called you here is because I wanted to talk to you."

"I have nothing to say to you." He spat.

"Neji, why do you hate me?"

"BECAUSE YOU HAVE EVERYTHING YOU COULD EVER WANT! YOU ARE FREE TO MAKE YOUR OWN DESTINY! YOU HAVE EVERYTHING I WANT! YOU'RE THE HEIR, YOU HAVE A FAMILY, YOU'VE GOTTEN HONOR, AND YOU…. You… you have someone to love…"

Neji fell to his knees. His eyes moistened, and tear fell as he blinked to ease the burning he felt. Hinata slowly walked over to him and… she hugged him.

"Neji-nii-san… I'm sorry."

"No… you're not. Why should you, a Main family member, care for your servants?"

"Neji, I don't feel that way…"

"DON'T! just… don't…"

"Neji-nii-san, I care for you. Naruto cares for you. We… all we ever wanted were to be your friends, your family. Why did you become cold?"

"Because… you were always seen as weak, and Naruto was always seen as a waste of time… but… you managed to… completely stop an invasion. You got the highest honor a Shinobi could get, you found someone to love, and your love became your betrothed. As for me? The counsel would never consent to train me farther because the branch members must be weaker than the Main family members. Then… I finally found someone to love… someone I wanted to be with… but… when the counsel found out… they refused to allow me to see her. You have everything given to you, and I… I just get it all taken away. Its just… not… fair…"

"Neji-nii-san…'

"Just go away, Hinata-sama."

Hinata stood up. Her own tears were falling. She reached out a hand and touched his forehead. She walked stood back and said "Neji… in this world, anything that happens to you here happens to you back in reality. In here, I am god. And as god, I declare the Caged Bird seal to be cruel. I free you of your curse."

Neji fell back in pain. His forehead glowed a sickly pale greenish-yellow (the color of Neji's curse seal tattoo) It felt like his forehead was going to split open. He writhed in pain, rolling over and over, yet refusing to scream. Then, as suddenly as it started, it stopped.

"Neji-nii-san, the tattoo will remain on your forehead forever. But, for all intents and purposes, the seal is gone. It can no longer be activated." To punctuate this fact, she raised her hands in the activation seal and forced enough chakra through it to kill him, but nothing happened to Neji.

"Hinata-sama… why…"

"Because… I hate those looks… the looks of hate… I want you to be my friend again, cousin."

"H…Hai."

"Neji… when we go back, I'll pass out from chakra exhaustion. I'm sorry, you win this match."

With a flash, everything turned back to normal. The world slowly sped up to normal speed. Hinata smiled one last smile before she fell.

"Winner, Hyuuga Neji."

Naruto jumped over the railing and knelt down at Hinata's side, cradling her head.

"Hinata-chan, what happened?"

"I… released… his seal…"

"You… thank you, Hinata-chan."

"Naruto-kun… please… don't hold it against him."

"I won't."

Hinata smiled again before falling asleep. He smiled lovingly as her face radiated peacefulness. He picked her up bridal style and walked with her into the Medic Ward, followed closely by Neji.

"Neji-san… did she remove 'it'?

"Yes… Naruto-sama."

"Neji, what did I tell you about calling me Naruto-sama? Naruto-san is just fine, although it makes me feel old."

"Hai, Naruto-sam…-san."

Naruto smiled and set Hinata down on the wheeled hospital bed as if she were made of glass. He pulled the blanket and sheet up over her sleeping body, carefully tucking it underneath her. Hinata smiled and snuggled deeper into the pillow, grabbing onto Naruto's hand unconsciously.

Neji smiled sadly, thinking about his own love, and walked out of the door, closing it behind him.

He walked back up to the boxes just in time to hear the announcement of the next match.

"Uchiha Sasuke vs. Sabaku no Gaara."

* * *

Hey everyone, Halo here. Sorry about the whole Tsukiyomi copy, i know it's kind of cliche, but technically it's different. Tsukiyomi is a genjutsu, while Hinata's technique actually created a different pocket dimention. She can hold it indefinately as it draws off of Nature chakra, but too long and it'll rip the space time plain, or will copletely break off and she'll never be able to get back. it's dangerous, and will be banned by the Hogake after the exams as a kinjutsu. (forbidden technique.) I'm sorry for the short chapter, but i decided to put Sasuke's fall into the next chapter. He he he, i think Gaara will have quite a fun time, don't you think? i've already got some new skills Gaara gets to test out. Anyways, I gotta get back to school, lunch break is almost over. Laters!


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Uchiha Sasuke stood in the middle of the arena. A faint breeze ruffled his hair and the collar of his shirt. His eyes were narrowed and his mouth was set into an arrogant grin. Directly across from him stood a red haired Sand Nin, a small tattoo on his forehead. It was, of course, Sabaku no Gaara. Despite the mist that seemed to seep into everyone's cloths and soak them to the bone, Gaara seemed perfectly dry. A very faint cloud of sand floated around him, slightly obscuring his vision. A near mirror image of Sasuke's smirk played across Gaara's lips, but his eyes… his eyes were full of bloodlust. He had an aura of death and destruction, one that made you cringe and unconsciously scoot away from him.

"Begin" the examiner said before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

Sasuke smirked before activating his Sharingan, still with only two marks instead of the fully developed three. Reaching into his kunai pouch, he jumped into the air. With a small blast of chakra, he forced himself to spin in mid air, using the added speed from the spin to increase the punching power of his thrown kunai. Despite the sand that rose to defend its master, the kunai nearly hit the sand Genin. However, the Jinchuuriki was lucky enough that his sand was able to slow them down enough so that they dropped at his feet.

Sasuke landed and charged at his foe, performing a few hand seals as he ran, yelling "Katon! Goukakyuu no jutsu!"

A large fireball flew towards Gaara, but a wave of sand smothered it before it had a chance to hit him. However, a large portion of the sand was sent to stop it. Sasuke took advantage of this and got behind the boy, dodging a small wave of sand and bringing his fist into contact with the back of Gaara's head.

Gaara stumbled forward from the force of the blow before whipping around. He stretched his hands out and twin arms of sand formed and attempted to grab the Leaf Genin. The movements of the sand arms were in exact synchronization with Gaara's arms as he reached out to grab Sasuke. The Sharingan user kept dodging, weaving in and out, throwing an occasional shuriken hoping to distract the boy. Jumping back a large way, Sasuke again performed some hand seals.

'_Time to test my new jutsu…'_

Instead of concentrating the chakra in his lungs, as one would usually do for a Katon jutsu, Sasuke concentrated it in his feet. He slammed his foot into the ground, and a wave of flame, less than a foot high and three feet wide, rushed along the ground towards Gaara, who stepped back, slightly off balance, hoping to avoid it. Sasuke brought his other leg around in a low sweep that sent another wave along the ground, further throwing off Gaara's balance. Pumping even more chakra to his legs, Sasuke shot forward, slipping past the sand defense, and executed a sickening flurry of blows. A swift jab to the jaw, a knee to the stomach, an uppercut, a haymaker, a leg sweep, and a two-handed open palm thrust that hit the falling boy in the chest made up the combo. Gaara flew back and impacted with the wall. He fell off, stumbling and falling to his knees.

Feeling something strange, Gaara put his fingers to his lips. Drawing them away, he saw… red.

'_Blood…my own blood…Not since THEN have I seen my own blood… I'll kill him for that!'_

Gaara stood up. The sand that was previously swirling around him lowered. Thinking back, Gaara remembered the first time he had ever bled…

(Flashback…. Yes, it's another one.)

His first C-ranked mission went sour… so much so that it made a lemon taste sweet. The 'bandits' they were supposed to clear out of an area were, in fact, Stone Nin in disguise. Gaara and his team had walked into a literal death trap.

Gaara stood looking down at the stone spike sticking out of his chest. It was connected to a man's arm in place of a hand. The Stone Nin was grinning at the boy. Wrenching the spike out, as painfully as he could, the Nin turned around and started walking away.

Gaara fell to his knees, his hands covered in blood, but for the first time, it was his own. Looking over, he found his brother on his back, unconscious, and another Nin held a kunai over his prone form, ready to strike the killing blow. His sister was pinned to the wall, a kunai stuck through her shoulder.

Memories flashed through his head. Memories of pain, of fear, of the many assassination attempts… yet through it all, his sibling had been there for him, albeit fearfully, and had given him some small degree of comfort… and he had treated them with indifference, hate, and threats.

'_I… I will not let them die. I… I'll make it up to them… somehow…'_

'**_You seek power… I can give you that power… but you must give me BLOOD!'_**

'_Shukaku… give me your chakra…now.'_

The Jounin stopped. He turned to see the boy that, just a second ago, had a stone spike sticking through his chest stand up and challenge him. The man stood there, locking gazes with the sand Genin, not noticing the sand creeping up his legs.

Gaara reached out his hands, one towards the Stone Jounin, and one towards the Nin that threatened his siblings. His hands spread, fingers pointing towards the Nin.

"Sabaku Kyuu…" the sand engulfed their bodies. He clenched his fists, yelling "Sabaku Sousou."

Blood dripped down from the twin cocoons of sand as they slowly sand to the earth, then into it, forever buying the mangled corpses of the former Nin.

Gaara slowly fell to his knees. Using the last of his strength, he crawled over to his siblings. Temari, despite the kunai embedded in her shoulder, could only stare in fear, hoping her brother didn't plan to carry out the many threats he'd given them.

"Temari…" she jumped and flinched, closing her eyes, waiting for the pain.

"Gomen…" her eyes snapped open to see her brother's slowly close as he slipped into unconsciousness…

"Gaara… I forgive you…"

When they finally returned to the village, they went to train, after giving their report to the Kazekage. Usually, only Kankuro and Temari trained with Baki, but for some reason, Gaara decided to show up.

"Baki-sensei…" The Sand Jounin froze up. Gaara had never called him that before.

"Train me… in Taijutsu."

(End Flashback)

Gaara's sand slowly crept back into the gourd and the cap replaced itself. Reaching up to his shoulder, Gaara undid a clasp.

BOOM!

The gourd fell off his back, imbedding itself at least a foot into the ground. Gaara took a few steps forward, and settled into a Taijutsu stance.

"Bring it…"

Sasuke smirked before charging in. Flurries of blows were rained down upon Gaara. What Sasuke didn't expect was for each and every one of them to be blocked. The two Genin danced back and forth across the arena, trading blows, grabs, throws, even an occasional kunai or shuriken. Before long, the prolonged use of the Sharingan was really beginning to show on Sasuke. His moves became slower, his blocks less effective, and his mind started working more sluggishly than usual. Before long, he found himself on his back, looking up through the mist towards the obscured sky.

Gaara slowly walked forward, his features set into a serious expression. Slowly, Sasuke stood, testing his shaking legs.

"Uchiha Sasuke… its time to end this."

Gaara brought his thumb to his mouth and he bit it.

'_Shit! A summoning!'_

Sasuke whipped out a kunai and held it in a defensive position, looking around warily.

Gaara swiped his blood covered thumb over the tattoo on his forehead, and then performed several hand seals

Sasuke looked up and saw…

"Sasuke-chan…"

"Kaa-san!"

Sasuke could only stare in amazement as his mother appeared out of no where. He took a step forward, then another. His mother closed the distance. He reached out and pulled her into an embrace. He started crying into her shoulder, saying "Kaa-san! You're alive! I...I...I missed you… so much…"

"Shh, Sasuke-chan… it's ok…just let it all out…"

Sasuke continued to cry. After a moment, he stopped and looked up at her again. She put her hand on his shoulders and looked him in the eyes.

"Sasuke-chan… I'm sorry... but…" her features started blurring, and her voice started changing "It's time…" they took on a much darker form. "to accept your fate… foolish little brother…" Sasuke's eyes widened, and he took a step back. Uchiha Itachi stood there, exactly like he was on THAT night…

"Goodbye… brother…Sabaku Sousou."

The Genjutsu dissolved as the sand that had covered Sasuke's body imploded, spraying copious amounts of blood all around the arena. Gaara's gourd picked itself up off the ground and floated onto his back. Gaara reached back around and re connected the strap. He calmly walked out of the arena, leaving the battered and broken body of Uchiha Sasuke laying on the ground, as the medic nin frantically tried to heal him.

(Time Skip)

Hinata slowly woke from her dreams. As vivid as they were, she forgot them the moment she awoke, only left with a feeling, a vague imprint as to what they once were. Her arm felt warm and she looked over to see… Naruto.

He was sleeping on the chair next to the bed, holding her arm to his chest almost as if it was his lifeline and he would die if he let it go.

Slowly, Hinata sat up. Her slight movement woke Naruto from his fitful sleep. He blinked a couple of times before he realized where he was.

"Hina-chan… how're you feeling?"

"I'm fine… Naru-chan."

He smiled. His hand found hers and they fingers intertwined. He gave her hand a small squeeze, hoping to reassure not only her, but himself as well. Their eyes met and they stared into their eyes, so similar yet so different. The distance between their lips started shrinking. They came closer and closer. The scent of the other was heavy, making each lightheaded. Just as their lips were about to meet, the door to the hospital room opened and a nurse walked in. She looked up to see the betrothed couple break apart, blushing deeply.

"Oh, deary me! I'm so sorry, I hope I didn't interrupt!"

"No… we're quite… unoccupied…" growled Naruto, managing to mix both anger and sarcasm, quite a feat.

"Oh, well in that case, Hyuuga-sama, you're doing fine, and the doctor has given his okay for you to leave. Then, you can go back to being… ahem… unoccupied."

The two love struck teens blushed, almost competing with each other, seeing who can make the most unrealistic red.

* * *

Halo here. Ah…. I know you're prolly all pissed at me cuz I haven't updated in quite a while, but… well… (insert generic excuse here). Lolz. No, I've just been playin Eve online a lot recently. Just got my battleship. Anyways, enough free advertising. . I'm shocked. The ratio of hits to reviews is just atrocious! Over 100,000 hits and only 500 reviews! I'm shocked! REVIEW! The less reviews I get, the less inclined I am to write! Yes, I know I'm digging for reviews to use as bragging writes, but come on! You do want to see more chapters out, don't you! Oh, and on a side note, the real reason I'm late with this chapter, and that it's kinda short, is that I've been playing around with yet another story concept, and I'll post it as a one shot. If people like it, I'll continue it. If not… well…. No biggie. I'll just take it down. Anyway, I'm off to write it now! Laters! 


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

"Hyuuga Naruto, I presume?"

Naruto turned away from the weathered training post he was currently practicing on to stare at the strangely dressed man leaning on a tree at the edge of the clearing. The man had a forehead protector completely different from any he had ever seen before. The battle armor underneath a red overcoat was rather intimidating. His long and unruly hair was tied into a loose ponytail that stretched down to his lower back. Naruto, yet again, thanked his studies in the Hyuuga Compound.

"The Toad Sannin, Jiraiya, I presume?"

"Oh, you've heard of me? Perhaps from my works?" The man pulled out a signed copy of Icha Icha Paradise XXVII, Return of Longtool.

"What… you wrote that?"

"Yes, yes I do."

"GAH! PERVERT!"

Streams of chakra wrapped itself around Jiraiya's legs and drug him under the ground up to his neck.

"Oi! Gaki! Lemme out of here!" The man struggled against the earth that entrapped him.

"No. You're the one that made Hiashi such a closet pervert. And Neji-nii-san too!"

"…So, the Hyuuga Clan head reads my books?"

"SHUT UP!"

After half an hour of torture with a Suiton Jutsu and plenty of begging from Jiraiya, the Sannin was finally released.

"Why did you come here, Jiraiya-sama?"

"I have a mission for you." Naruto looked up, openly displaying his excitement.

"As you know, the war with sound is in a stalemate right now. The problem is we think that they're going to be starting a massive offensive. Things are gonna escalate, and we can't afford to take many more losses. So, it's our job to find Tsunade, the Slug Sannin. She's the best medic Nin in the entire world, and we need her to start training some more medics Nin for the war."

"And why am I going on such an important mission."

"Because, I was in the area when I got the messenger bird, and Sandaime himself recommended you. There was no time to send some ANBU to help, and reports are that Orochimaru may try something against her. No doubt he'll have a horde of Sound Nin with him. That's why we'll need your help. Sandaime told me about your… exploits. With your bloodline and your Kage Bunshin, you could probably keep the Sound Nin off our backs while we incapacitate or kill Orochimaru and get Tsunade out of there. Fewer losses on our side, too. Also, she was reportedly in the area, and you are the best choice of available Nin in the area."

"…I'm assuming this is an A-rank mission."

"Actually, it's more like an S-rank mission, due to possible encounters with Orochimaru."

"…I see. However, Kage Bunshin are no match for Jounin and most Chuunin. No matter how many I make, I won't be able to stall them for more than a minute or two."

"Ah, I already thought of that. So, I'll be teaching you while we travel. Your Kage Bunshin will have to learn how to reinforce themselves, and how to self replicate. It's not really that hard, especially since your bloodline allows you to draw chakra from your surroundings."

"An interesting idea. I'm ashamed that I haven't though of it before. But what I want to know is why you're teaching a possibly A or S-ranked to a Genin?"

"… I'll be honest with you kid, but know that this is an S-ranked secret. You can't tell anyone. Got it?"

"… Understood."

"Ok… Konoha is royally screwed. The Sound convinced Cloud and Stone to ally themselves with their village. Stone is still angry from the last war with them, and Cloud wants to get back at us for the Kidnapping Incident. Thankfully, Sand recently withdrew from the alliance. Apparently, their Kazekage is has other things to do that, thankfully, have nothing to do with Konoha."

"…I see. Go on."

"Now, we'll be massively outnumbered. That's where you come in. If, say, about 40 or 50 special Jounin are assigned in a group with you, then your Kage Bunshin can make up most of an army as ordinary soldiers. Of course, the specialists are there for specific missions. Such as Tai, Nin, and Genjutsu specialists, Stealth and Sabotage specialists, and a fair amount of ANBU to take out the more powerful opponents and to protect the real you. Your Kage Bunshin can draw chakra from their surroundings so they can use jutsu and reinforce themselves. And, they can self replicate. Should one or more of their comrades get dispelled, then they can create another to replace him. And should a scout come upon an enemy, he can replicate and then dispel himself to relay a message to you. In short, you can be a one man army. The problem is that in one-on-one fights, you might not win. That's why ANBU will be guarding you."

"Hmm. That's a good concept, in theory, but only so much chakra can be taken from Nature before things become unbalanced. I'll be limited on that… unless I can get clones in close to hold down an opponent, where they can drain him. But they need to be in physical contact with the enemy… But in large scale battles, my clones would be effective. And if I get knocked unconscious or fall asleep, my clones will dissipate. That'll be a problem. Wait, you said that when a clone dissipates, I gain their memories?"

"Yeah, you do."

"Does that also mean that any type of combat they're in, it'll be like I was there myself?"

"Yup. Works the same way with training, too."

"Hah. Then by the end of the war, I'll have so much battle experience that I'll be able to beat you."

"Hmm… that's true. The more losses you take, the better you get. And in turn, the better your clones will get. And eventually, we'll have an army of Jounin level self replicating Kage Bunshin. In a war, you'll be unstoppable. But the problem is still your one-on-one fights. You'll be too used to be working as a part of a team, due to your Kage Bunshin's teamwork. You'll have to work on that a whole lot… Ah, crap. We've wasted too much time already. You have an hour to get packed and say goodbye. Meet me back here."

"Understood."

Jiraiya nodded and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Naruto turned and walked down the foggy streets. Half formed thoughts ran through his head, chaotically swirling, but never fully forming. In a daze, he made his way back to the hotel where Hinata was resting. Slowly climbing the side of the building with chakra, and hopping through the open window, he tried to clear his mind. He failed. His mind raced and froze at the same time, and he felt like slamming his head against the wall to get the thoughts out of his head.

But, each and every thought was swept away, as a beautiful, bell like voice sounded in the room.

"Naruto-kun? You're back early."

"Hina-chan…"

Naruto approached the bed and enveloped his betrothed in a loving hug. She squealed slightly before relaxing into his arms.

"Naruto-kun, what's wrong?"

"…I have a mission."

"What? But you've got to train for the third exam!"

"It's an order directly from Sandaime."

"But… I don't want you to leave."

"I know. But I have to. It's an A-rank, possibly S-rank."

"WHAT!"

"It's important to the safety of Konoha. If we fail, we may not win the war. I have to go. I… I don't wan to leave you, but have to. I'll be back before the third exam, ok?"

"…Ok. But what'll I tell Ibiki-sensei and Chouji-kun?"

"Tell them exactly what I told you."

"…ok. But… don't think you'll be leaving empty handedly."

Hinata grinned coyly and pulled him into a deep kiss. Naruto relaxed onto the bed, lying next to her. Their tongues met and danced, pushing for dominance. Neither found it, but neither cared. Their hands wandered over their partner's bodies, caressing each and every curve and crevice. Time passed as they lay kissing and fondling each other, completely entranced by the subtle dance of their hands across their partner's body. Slowly, they pulled each other into a loving hug. After a few moments of cuddling, Naruto stood. He walked around and packed his bag with everything he'd need for this trip. It didn't take long. He walked back over to Hinata's side.

"I'll be thinking of you, love." He said.

"I'm glad to know you'll be getting off on my mental image."

Naruto blushed and Hinata giggled. _'It's so much fun teasing him…'_

Naruto kissed her one last time and jumped onto the window seal.

"I love you, Hina-chan."

He smiled and jumped, running even as he landed.

"I love you too… Naru-kun."

Jiraiya was rather impressed by the young boy's stealth. The only indication that he'd dropped out of the trees and landed behind the Legendary Sannin was the air disturbed by his passing.

"You ready?"

"…Yes."

"Let's go."

Despite having run for an hour straight, jumping from tree branch to tree branch, neither ninja was breathing very hard. Soon, the trees began thinning out, just as the sun started turning the everlasting mist into an orange cloud. Jiraiya jumped down into a clearing and stopped. Naruto landed next to him.

"Is something the matter?"

"No… but this is a good place to set up camp. Also… there are natural hot springs near by…"

"How do you know?"

"You can smell the sulfur… and my 'pervert senses' are tingling…"

The convicted pervert lecherously grinned, making Naruto sweat drop.

"… In any case, don't you think you'd better teach me how to reinforce a Kage Bunshin now?"

"Yeah, yeah. Make one now."

With a poof of smoke and exact replica of the adopted Hyuuga appeared.

"Good. Do you see how the chakra is formed to make it?"

"Yes."

"Describe it to me."

"The chakra condenses and compresses air, water molecules, and dust floating in the air into a human shape. It's mostly air… Then the chakra heats up the gathered stuff and solidifies it, vaporizing most of the water molecules, creating the poof and cloud of smoke. Then the leftover chakra is split between the clones, and is run through its chakra circulatory system, allowing it to do jutsu. However, the construct is very weak, and a solid blow will disrupt the chakra holding it together, causing the air to rush out, and creating the small poof and another cloud of smoke. The Byakugan can't tell the difference between the Kage Bunshin and a human due to the chakra circulatory system in each one. The Sharingan can because the 'body' usually has several small defects that even the Byakugan's sharp sight cannot detect."

"Good. You've done your homework. Now, to reinforce your Kage Bunshin, you gotta have the chakra that holds together its framework constantly being replenished, as well as concentrate extra chakra into the skin, allowing it to resist damage. Too much damage in a short amount of time will destroy it, as will a dismembering or a killing blow. However, because the chakra is constantly replenishing itself, it'll be able to correct damage to the form, given enough time and chakra. But for now, just concentrate on getting the chakra to concentrate on your Kage Bunshin's skin."

Naruto nodded and turned to his clone, while Jiraiya ran off, heading to the 'mysterious' clouds of steam a little ways away, visible over the tree tops.

After several failed attempts, Naruto managed to get the clone to resist a punch to the chest. But it still wasn't perfect. Even if he hit only a little bit harder, the clone would dissipate, and a hit to the head will still dispel it. With a sigh he said "Try it again."

His newest clone nodded and concentrated the chakra again, forming a protective layer just underneath the skin. After a while, Naruto nodded. He pulled his fist back and belted the poor clone over the head. The clone… fell.

"OW! You didn't have to hit so hard!"

"YES! It worked!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know, good job…" the clone said, rubbing the lump that sprouted out of his head.

Naruto sat down next to his clone and waited. The lump eventually receded. Naruto could see the weak spot in the clone's structure, and it probably wouldn't withstand another hit to the same area.

"I want to try something…"

The clone nodded and the both stood. Naruto hit it hard in the chest. The clone stumbled back, but regained its balance.

"Ow. You could have warned me, you know."

"But it's much more fun this way…"

The clone shuddered and whispered "Sadist…"

Naruto rushed in and kicked at the clone, who managed to bring up an arm to block the blow. However, the already stressed structure of the Kage Bunshin couldn't handle another jolt, and it was destroyed.

"Damn… looks like three hits is my limit."

He sighed. Getting a sudden idea, he created yet another Kage Bunshin.

"What, gonna kick the crap out of another clone?" The clone's almost bitter voice made Naruto pause for a moment.

"…No. I wanted to see if you could make reinforced Kage Bunshin, and then drain Nature chakra to keep you alive."

The clone raised an eyebrow but went through the hand seals anyway. With a poof, 5 more clones were created. Naruto went over and hit each one, making sure they could withstand the blow. They all held firm. He looked over at the clone that created the clones. Its face was screwed up in concentration as it drew chakra to re charge the small space it had for its chakra pool. It wasn't much more than a Chuunin level chakra, but it would do.

"Well, I think we did well today. How about a nice spar to finish it off?"

The clones grinned evilly.

Later that night, as Naruto sat by the fire, bandaging a few cuts and scrapes, fighting clones that could throw jutsu at you was a lot harder than the Taijutsu only matches he used to have…

Hey there. Halo here. Yeah, I haven't updated in a while. I've been busy studying for the ACT test, which was last Saturday, but it turns out that my name didn't get put on the list somehow. I paid the fee, filled out the paperwork, and spend a ton of time studying when I should have been writing, only to get told that I'm not on the list! It's an outrage!

(fumes)

Hrm. Anyway, here you go. Sorry it's so short, but i've been doing some planning lately. I'm gonna be wrapping this story up in about 5 chapters or so, up until the start of the war. Then I'll end it and write a sequel when I have time… and that might not be for a while. But don't worry, I WILL be writing the sequel… eventually….

Enjoy!


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